Dangan Ronpa 2: By Chance
by Winter's ice
Summary: Hinata wasn't expecting this horrific outcome. He just wanted to walk around so he could get tired, go to bed, and hope for his friends to get better. It was by pure chance that he followed Saionji into the music venue around midnight. What follows afterwards is something he could have never imagined in his life. -Alternate take on chapter 3! Contains spoilers and minor shipping!-
1. Chance Encounter with Despair

**Chapter three devoured my soul. Chapter two was depressing as hell because I was really liking both Peko and Koizumi, but oh boy chapter three. It was like one big whammy fest considering that Ibuki is one of my favorites and I liked Tsumiki and felt sorry for her. Her being in despair mode was also great despite her killing Ibuki. After finishing the chapter I wanted to write an alternative take on it, and this was the result. Anyway I hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Date Published: 928/14  
><strong>**Word Count: 6,976  
><strong>**Page Count: 10**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Chance Encounter with Despair<strong>

Hinata closes the door to Komaeda's room quietly, trying to not disturb the sickened hope lover. A simple sigh flows out of his mouth as he presses his back to the door with a small 8-bit styled image of his ally. At least he thinks he can be an ally if he stopped his jabber about killing someone just so they can have some sort of hope to fight off despair.

Three of his friends has already fallen to the grasp of this bizarre Despair Disease spread around by Monokuma. The idea of that stupid monochrome bear spreading around a silly sounding disease makes no sense to the ahoge boy. He never heard of an ailment that can affect a person's personality to take such a compete 180, much less possibly kill someone if left untreated. The whole thing sounds like it is out of some sort of science fiction novel or manga.

"How the hell can he even do that? Just what is this disease anyway?" spoke Hinata aloud in an exhausted voice as his head travels up to the white-painted ceiling. He can't do anything right now. Tsumiki is the only one can help them. He has to believe that she can find a way to save them somehow, "How can she even know if her treatments are working? She…no. No one has ever heard of this besides Monokuma. There is just no way she can be certain that what she is doing can save them."

A sudden pain travels through his body as he walks forward and punches his hand against the wall with the glass showcasing Monokuma's twisted idea of a hospital procedure. The stuff bear doesn't call himself Doctor Killgood for nothing it seems. Hinata feels just so feeble, pathetic, and useless right now. He can't do anything at all to help them out. Not a single freaking thing at all. He has no skills to help save his friends from whatever doomed fate faced them if Tsumiki's treatments can't pull them through.

"Damn it! What can I do besides waiting around and hoping for the best?! I'm just so useless right now, I can't do anything for them!" he yelled out as his face twists in pain. All he can do is watch his friends suffer at the paws of that wretched bear! How many more of them has to die for his enjoyment?! His stomach is filled with the anxiety of him being unable to do anything at all.

He lowers his head down to the tile floor below him. He felt tears building up in his eyes at the idea of more people dying from this twisted game. Monokuma inflicted this disease so someone can have a motive to start killing. At any given moment someone at the motel can be filled up with such fear of the disease-spreading to them that they could go and kill someone. When someone is filled with paranoia, anything can happen. They began to lose their rational thinking, their sanity, and then they can go to any length to protect themselves. No matter what they do, they are just chess pieces in the bear's game of murder.

"What can we do? What can _I_ do? I don't want to see anyone else die," he mumbled softly while pulling his hand away from the wall and whipping his eyes. He can't cry, not right now, not when the remainder of the class is still alive. He has to stay strong and pray that Tsumiki can save them, "I just have to have hope. Komaeda is always going on about it. The way he views it is twisted, but I just have to believe in the best. We can find a way to break away from being Monokuma's chess pieces somehow, I know it." In reality a part of him isn't so sure about it. He still feels the unease of being unable to break out of this game of mutual killing. Even so, he and everyone else has to try to believe. None of them wants to die and none of them wants to kill. He knows that, _"Even so, if someone is pushed to their limits and breaks, they can kill. We've already seen it,"_ he thought solemnly as he pulls away from the wall.

Hinata begins to walk towards the front doors that leads to the lobby, but came to a halt when his green eyes traveled over to the first room. He looked at the door for a bit before he walked up to it and pushed it open quietly. He closes the door just as gently and walks silently towards the bed. Laying down in it was another one of the victims of this outrageous disease, and possibly the most cheerful person he has ever meet.

Mioda Ibuki is sleeping peacefully, or at least he believes she is. When he first came into the hallway to see Komaeda she was up, the same swirly look in her pink eyes, and commenting on how she wanted to help. Hinata just told her to go and get more rest and she followed his orders without a second thought. Her aliment from the sickness is being gullible, believing every single word out of a person's mouth. At the moment she can't distinguish between truth and fallacy, and it's leaving her extremely vulnerable. At any given minute someone can kill her, or order her to kill herself, and she wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop it. She would just go along with it and die without even questioning her orders.

He's worried, extremely concerned about her wellbeing. Komaeda and Owari's aliments is also causing them to be sick and vulnerable, but to him, her situation is terrible. Owari is crying none stop and is a total emotional wreak, but she isn't really trusting anyone at the moment. While Komaeda's situation isn't any better, considering he can die at any minute, but he just doesn't feel as concerned for him. After all, Hinata believes it's some sort of karma for always wanting people to die to bring forth hope. Plus it's ironic for the lucky student to be the one plagued by this bizarre disease. For her though, one single command and she could go through it like a loyal solider listening to her commanding officer. One single person can give her orders, and that would be the end of her life. She isn't able to do anything to protect herself right now.

Hinata wants to yell at himself for being suspicious of his other friends, but just can't. He isn't blind to what has happened on the island, and knows well that if someone is desperate enough, they will do whatever it takes. So the fear of someone breaking down and killing is always there in his mind. What scares him the most though is that one of his closest friends could be the next victim, and wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

Out of everyone left on the island, Mioda is always smiling. Always trying her best to be happy despite their current situation. Despite knowing that the world around them can fall into hell's clutches at any given moment, she continues to be happy. She is always full of energy, trying to brighten the mood, and keeping people's spirits up with her peppy attitude. Her wacky behavior can be seen as annoying, but to him it always makes him smile back at her. She rarely seems sad about their present state, and always seems to stay strong. It is like she's being strong to keep everyone from falling into some sort of depression.

Hinata admires that about her. No matter how bad it gets, she is always being goofy. Even during the class trials where they have to pick out the murder or be killed themselves, she's always being perky and playing around in some way. To him, it is like she remains happy to distract the rest of them from the hell around them, to keep their spirits up. Even when it is just the two of them hanging out in those rare moments of bliss, she's always happy and dragging him around. He of course doesn't mind it, he enjoys spending almost all of his spare time with her. She just has this magical essence floating around her, even when he feels miserable she can come up to him and automatically perk him up.

_"Just looking at her makes me want to stay strong and be cheery,"_ he thought to himself as a small smile crossed over his face as he reaches his hand out. He places his right hand on top of hers and gives it light squeeze, _"I just need to believe. Tsumiki will be able to find some way to help them, and Monokuma's plan with fail. She'll be able to help the three of them through this ordeal. Then before I know it, Ibuki will be back to her usual self, smiling happily and dragging me all over the place so she doesn't have to feel lonely. As long as she keeps that smile up, all of our spirits will stay strong and fight against that bear. If there is a way, we can defy our fate and change the hand of this card game to be in our favor."_

He just stared at her for a while more, his eyes locked onto her face serene face. Suddenly her eyes opened up, revealing the distorted swirly look inside them. Hinata jumped a bit and quickly pulled his hand away from hers, feeling embarrassed and his face flushing a little. He knows she won't respond to him in a playful way and poke fun him at him, but he can't help it.

She then sat up, looks at him and asked, "Do you have an order for me?" in a voice he has only heard once before when she was being dead serious about accepting him for who he is and all that. It was grave, stern, and somewhat robotic like. It truly sounds like she is a solider, waiting to follow instructions from some person she never saw before. That, and not hearing her talking in third person seemed very unlike herself and abnormal to his ears.

"No, I was just checking up on you," he began while only slightly looking at her and rubbing the side of his head, "I wanted to make sure you where alright."

"I see, alright then. Shall I go back to sleep now?" she asked, referencing his earlier command while turning her head slightly at him.

"Y-yeah, just go back to sleep. You'll need all of your rest, so when you're back to your full strength we can go and hang out and act like compete idiots as usual," he responded back to her with a slight smile and chuckle. It feels like he's talking to a completely different person. This isn't the same person he knows and that can cheer him up almost instantaneously.

"I understand. I will be looking forward to when we can hang out again," she responded before laying her body back down on the hospital bed. It's just so odd to see her like this, and to his surprise she continued to speak, "Goodnight Hajime. I'll see you tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah, goodnight Ibuki, and that you will," and with that he turns his body away from the bed and walks to the door. He opens the door slightly, and before he leaves he turns his head back to look at her once more. He gives her one more smile before he leaves the room. In the morning he'll come and check up on everyone. He'll encourage Tsumiki to keep doing her best, hope Komadea pulls through, and he'll continue to hold onto the faith that no one will die. With that final thought and ideology in his head, he made his way back to his cottage.

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><p>"So much for getting a goodnight's sleep," mumbled Hinata to himself as he walks around aimlessly on the third island. At the moment he can't get any sort of sleep. He just kept turning back and forth in his bed, a feeling of anxiety twisting back and forth with him. No matter how much he tried to fall asleep, he just couldn't. So instead of just laying there thinking how nice it would to be able to sleep, or worrying about his friends, he decided to just walk around instead. By walking, he thought it would clear his head and help him get sleepy.<p>

"I wonder what time it is?" he continued as he moves his head to the night sky above him. The sky looks just so clear and pristine, with no cloud formations or any signs of rain. Perhaps it's his imagination, but the night sky always looks the same here. The weather on this island seems to be on a repetitive loop, looking exactly the same day in and day out.

"It's probably around 12:30 or one," is his simple hypothesis. It's almost impossible to keep up with the time on this island. The only certain times they are given is when Monokuma's announcements go off in the morning and evening, "I guess I should go back soon, I don't want to be falling asleep in the morning. Tsumiki would probably end up thinking that I'm getting sick too and start worrying about me. She has enough things to handle at the moment as it is."

With a sigh Hinata returns his gaze the land before him. He just continues to walk, hoping that by the time he gets back to his cottage he'll be able to sleep. It's bad enough he can't do anything to help his friends right now, so he doesn't want to cause any problems by getting sick. That would just make matters worse for the group, and doesn't want that to happen.

As Hinata comes upon the music venue something catches his eye. Standing by the doors is a petite girl with a kimono on, her blonde hair tied in pigtails. The only problem it seems is that she can't get her kimono to stay on as she continues to fidget with the clothing. He notices how it continues to slip as she continues to play with its folds, and that she can't get the obi to stay tied. After fixing it so it would stay on for a small time, she opens the large doors and walks inside in a hurry.

"I guess she's still having trouble tying it, but why is she going in there at this time of night?" with that he begins to think about what's inside the large building. When the island first opened up, he did travel everywhere to find any sort of clue as to why they are stuck here. Each of the buildings has its own assortment of items, but why did Saionji need to go into the music venue? If he remembers correctly, she locked herself up in her room to stay away from everyone else because of the disease. So why did she suddenly decide to leave?

Then an idea hit him, "There is a mirror in the storage room, maybe she wants to use it to help her tie up her kimono? I guess she didn't want anyone to see her running around like that and waited till everyone was asleep." The idea makes sense to him, there is no other reason she would run into the building in the middle of the night. Perhaps that's why she didn't leave her room, she was still having troubles with her clothes.

Hinata continues to look at the building, pondering if he should check up on her. The small girl has a nasty tongue and is vile to poor Tsumiki, but she's trying to change. He can tell she wants to be to a better and kinder person, though being nice seems to be a foreign concept to her. If he did go in, she would just bitch at him and probably call him a perverted lolicon. Even so, he feels like he should go in anyway and help her out in any way.

"Why am I such a nice guy? Hajime, you need to learn when to stop helping people, it might get you killed one day," he mumbles to himself as he begins to walk towards the doors, while not intending to make such a dark joke.

Hinata opens the front door slowly and quietly, just in case Saionji is still in the main part of the building. Opening it too suddenly could freak her out and he doesn't need her bitching too much at him. He stops opening the door when he sees three people standing on the stage. He is caught by surprise at first, but quickly oxygen starts to stop in his throat.

Saionji is a little to the right of the middle of the stage and is yelling at Tsumiki. The nurse is to the far left of the stage, and is looking down at the wooden floor. The other person is standing in the middle of the stage with a hemp bag with a Monomi decal covering their head, is wearing a hospital gown, and seems to be paying no heed to Saionji or anything at all. The person just seems like a statue. His heartbeat starts to increase at the bizarre scene, as uncertainty begins to fill up his stomach.

"What the hell is this?" he breathes out lowly to himself, unsure of what is going on. All he knows that this doesn't look good, nor right. Then his eyes travels down to Tsumiki's hands, where in her left hand is a large piece of dangling rope. His eyes began to widen, his blood running cold, "W-was she…trying to kill that person?"

He can't believe what he's seeing, Tsumiki trying to _kill_ someone? Tsumiki is always trying to help people, she is just too weak and cowardly to kill someone! She's like a weak little bunny, not a bloodthirsty tiger! Why would she be helping the people out at the hospital if she doesn't care about people's lives? This just isn't right…there is no way she could…kill someone. He doesn't want to believe what is before him, he feels like he just can't accept it. Even so, the proof is right in front of him. His eyes aren't playing any tricks on him right now.

"Huh? Are you really that stupid?! You, kill someone? You gotta be kidding me!" yelled out Saionji in her usual arrogant tone, the one she always uses on the nurse, "You must be really stupid to think that you can kill someone! Everyone would find out it was you automatically! You would do such a horrible job that everyone would know that only you could have done it!"

"Damn it Saionji, shut the hell up!" is what Hinata lets out of his mouth as he continues to watch it with a firm grip on the door handle, "Antagonizing her won't help you!" He wants to move his legs, but he just can't. He's scared, all of this seems so unnatural. Tsumiki never seemed like the murderous type, but he can't deny what he is seeing. He doesn't want to accept it, but he can't change what he is seeing. She wouldn't have a piece of rope in her hands if is she isn't trying to kill whoever that person is!

"Wait, then who…," he begins as his eyes darted back to the third person, who hasn't made a single move, "It has to be someone from the hospital, but who?!" Komaeda is too sick to move at the moment, Owari would be freaking out and crying, and Mioda would just be silent. Just as soundless as the person before him. His eyes widened again, this time he could feel his body freeze up, "Tsumiki was trying to kill Mioda? So that means I was right," he whispered. He never wanted to suspect his friends of anything, but he was right. That someone could have taken advantage of her in that state.

"Damn it, I should have kept a better eye on her!" he spoke lowly, trying to keep his voice low. He shot his eyes to the ground, his grip tightening on the handle. He didn't want to suspect anyone, but if he was more suspicious than no one would be there right now…right?

"What was that?! Speak up!" yelled Saionji again, puffing out her small body to the nurse, "I can't hear you if you whisper! Just speak up and tell me why you thought it was a great idea to try and kill someone! Come on you dumbass, tell me why you thought it was a great idea to listen to that stupid bear! Even you can't be that stupid to listen to it!"

Hinata continued to watch, unsure of what Saionji is getting at. He can't tell if she is insulting her, or trying to find out why she was trying to kill Mioda. The small girl is trying to be a better person, so could this be her attempt at trying to show concern? Even so, he can't just stand here! He might be frightened, but he has to do something!

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" shrieked out Tsumiki like a banshee, causing both Hinata and Saionji to jump a bit, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

She continued to shout out her apologies while dropping the rope and raising her hands to her head. Saoinji backed away from her while clutching her clothing to keep them from falling. Tsumiki continued to cry out to her, seemingly breaking under her statements, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry so why don't you just forgive me already?! Why can't you forgive?! Why?!"

Hinata isn't sure what's going on here, but he can tell she's breaking. Whatever caused her to snap was breaking even further, and who knows what she is capable of at the moment. He finally manages to get his legs moving forward and pushes his body through the front doors. He quickly runs to the stage and hollered, "Tsumiki, calm down! Just talk to us! Tell us why you wanted to kill Mioda! We're your friends, so just talk to us!"

"H-Hinata? Why are you here?" asked Saionji. Hinata turns his head to her, seeing how frighten she is. Despite those appalling comments, she was shaking like the small child she acts like on a regular basis.

"I was just passing by!" he yelled to her before moving his head back to Tsumiki. She is still apologizing, but in a lower tone and the grasp on her head is lightening up, "Come on Tsumiki, just stop this and talk to us! That's what friends are for!"

She finally stops the chant like apologizing, and turns her head to face Hinata. Her face is twisted into a perverse and euphoric smile, her eyes having the same swirly look to them. She removes her hands from her head and wraps them around her chest tightly, "Ohhh, friends? You must be kidding, I don't have any friends," she began in a whisper.

"T-Tsumiki?" asks Hinata while stepping back a little with surprise and fear taking an even deeper root inside him. The look on her face is just so wrong and disturbing. She looks nothing like the regular sweet and timid Tsumiki. The look in her eyes also matches the others infected with the disease, "A-are you infected too?"

"Of course I am!" she speaks out in a joyful yet twisted voice, "I can't believe it took you so long to notice Hinata! After sleeping with you, I would have thought you would have noticed! Thanks to this wondrous despair inducing disease, I remember everything!"

"What are you talking about? You remember our school life?" asks Hinata with some hope seeping through with a slight smile, "Then that means you can tell us what happened to us and how we got here, right?! You can answer all of our questions?!"

Tsumiki unraveled her arms and pressed her to hands together, intertwining her finger while some drool started to seep out of her mouth, "Ohhhh, aren't you so hopeful? You know, if I told you what I remember, then you wouldn't be all that hopefully anymore. Even so, just knowing about the truth is making me feel so much despair it's wonderful! Ahahahahaha!" She squealed out in a warped delight, a maddened look on her face.

"What the hell is wrong with this bitch?!" howled Saionji with fear seeping through her voice, while shaking from this bizarre behavior, "That stupid bear made the stupid pig barf go insane! That dumb bear tainted her!"

"Saionji, now is not the time for you to be calling her that!" yells Hinata, knowing that if she keeps that up Tsumiki is bound to do something. She is not in her right state of mind right now, and her actions reminds him of how Komaeda acts when he's going on about despair and hope.

Hinata motions his eyes over to Mioda, who is still just standing there doing absolutely nothing. If Saionji didn't walk in here when she did, Mioda would more than certainly be dead right now. He can't tell if what he has walked into counts as good or bad luck.

Tsumiki notices that and walks over to Mioda, "You know, it isn't fair if she doesn't get too see anything now is it? I was going to kill her and her alone, but I guess since you two walked in, I have to change my plans around a bit. That's alright though, I'll do anything to make me feel even more despair and spread it around!" With that she pulls the hemp bag off of her head, revealing the emotionless face of the intended victim.

Hinata doesn't say anything, but his eyes lit up with anger. Tsumiki catches that as well and just smirks at him gleefully.

"Now the, where was I? Oh yeah, you know Saionji is right Hinata," began Tsumiki with a twisted smirk on her face while pushing her hands downwards, "I am just an ugly, stupid, moronic bitch. That's why everything she is saying is completely right. No matter how many times I apologize, people will never forgive me. People will never accept me no matter how much I try, for all I am is worthless trash."

"That's bullshit Tsumiki!" yelled Hinata while moving his arm outwards quickly, "You aren't trash! You are a good person no matter what anyone says! Trash wouldn't be able to help people like you can!" His voice is filled with determination, reassurance, and the desire for her to listen to him. With her being infected by the Despair Disease though, he's not sure how much of his words will get through.

Tsumiki looks directly at him, that twisted smirk turning into a smile euphoria, "Oh Hinata, you don't know anything at all, now do you? No one accepts me, not my family, not you, not my so called friends," she paused as more drool came out of her mouth and her voice rose in joy, "Just my beloved understands me! My beloved is the only person in the whole world who accepts me! Without my beloved I would be nothing at all!" She declares that as her body is shaking with ecstasy at just the mention of this person.

Before Hinata could say a word Tsumiki continued, "Without them I would be nothing but pieces of discarded trash! That's way, that's way, that's way!" she declares before motioning her head up to the ceiling as if she's roaring to the heavens, "That's way I'm doing this! Everything is for my beloved! I'll bring upon despair to you all just for my beloved!"

"What about your own life?! Doesn't that matter to you at all Tsumiki?! I don't know who this person is, but if he wants you to kill people just for the sake of despair then he doesn't really love you! If he truly loves you, he would want to be happy and live! Not to kill someone and end up being executed!" spoke Hinata with passion in his lungs. He can't understand what is going on through her head right now, but he can't just stand by and watch her kill someone! They are all friends, and friends don't kill each other!

"Huh? What did you just say?" whispered out Tsumiki as she twisted her head sideways with a dreadful look swirling around in her eyes, "Did you just say my beloved doesn't love me?" she then turned her head to the opposite side as her arms encircled her body once again.

"Yeah! No one would want the person they love to kill another living being and die for it later!" declared Hinata with complete determination. The look in her eyes is frightening, it looks like there is a deep fog twirling around in them, blocking away any form of light.

"Hinata doesn't know anything," she begins while twisting her head back and forth to each side of her body, "My beloved loves me, and will always love. My beloved is the only one who loves me, and I'll do anything for them!" she then returned her head back to its normal posture and yelled out almost demonically, "I don't care what I have to do! I've already tainted my hands in blood for them! I'll do anything for my beloved and I don't give a damn! I'll kill as many people as possible to spread despair all for beloved and I won't let you get in my way!"

"Tsumiki stop this! Can't you hear yourself?! You are a nurse, you heal people not kill them!" shouted Hajime while balling his hand into a fist. No matter what he says, she isn't going to listen to him! She's far too gone to come back! If this is what it means to be in despair, he wants nothing to do with it!

"I know I'm the Ultimate Nurse, but it doesn't matter anymore Hinata!" spoke Tsumiki blissfully with her arms behind her back while leaning her body towards him, her eyes gleaming with the swirly despair. She's been jumping between her emotions so quickly, he can't tell what's going on inside her head, "I don't care about my title anymore, it means nothing to me! Besides, it's not like it's my real title anymore!"

"What do you mean it's not your real title!" he blasted out while pointing at her with his other hand, while not understanding what she means. How can she not be the Ultimate Nurse anymore?! The Tsumiki he knows is a nurse! Unless something that they can't remember changed their skills!

She gives him a lewd smile before turning to her side, looking directly at Saionji, "All I care about is bringing you all into despair, and then I can finally be with my beloved again! I just need to kill to be with them again! Despair will set my spirit free and reunite me with my beloved!" with that declaration Tsumiki threw out her arms, as if she is welcoming something inside of her body.

"Tsumiki that makes no sense! Just listen to yourself for one damn minute, how will despair free you?! Despair will just kill you! It's already eroding your soul!" He has to stop her some way, but how?! She isn't listening to him at all! All of his words are just being sliced away! She isn't afraid to kill, and even wants to die to be with person. What can he do?!

"It's easy Hinata, you silly little boy!" began Tsumiki turning her head over to him while laughing happily, her face filled with joy, "All I need to do is kill and then I can be with them! My beloved would be so sad if I didn't kill anyone, so I have to do it to please them and bring forth despair! If I died and didn't kill anyone here, I'm sure my beloved wouldn't be happy with me at all and I don't want that to happen!" She was smiling just so happily right now, just like a normal happy kid.

Tsumiki continued to smile brightly, laughing joyfully like a small child receiving a piece of cake and started to walk slowly towards Saionji. Hinata quickly shot his head over to the petite girl, "Saionji, run for it! Get away from her right now!"

Saionji was frozen almost in her spot. Tears were now falling nonstop from her eyes, the kimono slipping off of her, her body completely trembling. It is like she can't believe anything around her, that everything is nothing more than an illusion, "This can't be the real pig barf. This can't be. She's a-always a coward, always falling and crying like a little baby. This can't be real. It can't. Th-there is no w-way she would say those things. J-just no way she would ever want to kill anyone."

"Get the hell out of their Saionji! Run away! She is completely serious! She isn't the same Tsumiki we knew, she's going to kill you!" yells Hinata as he quickly walks to the stage and tries to climb up it. He has to stop this!

"Awww, is little Saionji-chama scared? Does she need a hug? Do you want some candy? I can help you with that Hiyoko-chama," speaks Tsumiki happily, treating the smaller girl like a little kid. She continued to walk to her beaming that disturbingly happy smile.

"Ah, ah, ahah, th-this can't be h-happening!" yelled Saionji as the realization that she can be killed at any second kicks in. The closer and closer Tsumiki gets, the more her body starts to kick in with adrenaline, "Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! S-stay away, STAY AWAY FROM ME!" she hollers as she moves backwards quickly. Too bad for her though, she steps on her messed up kimono and plummets to the wooden floor.

"Damn it, Saionji!" screamed Hinata as he got up onto the stage, "Tsumiki stop this nonsense! Just listen to me, you don't need that beloved of yours, and you definitely don't need to kill anyone! Just think rationally! You don't need to kill or die!"

"Silly Hajime-chan, you just don't get it, do you?" spoke Tsumiki as she stopped momentarily to look at him with that dreadful look mixed with her cheery attitude, "My beloved gave me worth, and I'll do anything for them! Without them, I wouldn't have ever known what it meant to be loved! Now then Ibuki-chan, I order you to hold back Hajime-chan, I don't want him to interfere with this! He'll have to wait his turn to feel the wonderful despair!"

"As you wish," is the simple sentence Hinata heard emanating behind him before he felt two arms place themselves around his own. He shot his head behind him to see Mioda's blank face and swirly eyes. They don't have the same fog as Tsumiki's, but are still unsettling.

"Ibuki? Let me go! I have to help out Saionji! Do you want her to die?!" he yelled at her, hoping that she would listen to him. How much of her personality and own beliefs are there is a mystery at this point, but he had to try to get across to her. He isn't sure is he could get her off of him either if she held on with all of her strength, "I order you to let me go!"

"I only follow orders from Mikan-sama," spoke Mioda in a bland and uninterested voice, "I don't wish any death on her, but if that is what my master wishes of me, and then so be it."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he bellowed out to her while trying to get her off of him without actually hurting her, "What do you mean by Mikan-sama?!"

Hinata heard happy laughter coming from known other than the mention girl, "I decided to order her to follow all of my orders just in case is something went wrong. It's always better to have a contingency plan in plan, right?" With that simple explanation Tsumiki continued to walk up to Saionji who was struggling to get her body to listen to her. While Hinata continued to struggle to get Mioda off of him to stop the despair induced girl.

"Awww, is little Hiyoko-chama alright? Did she get a booboo? Do you need me to make it feel all better?" speaks Tsumiki in that toying, sarcastic babying voice. Her eyes are swirling with the despair she loves oh so very much, with a small chuckle escaping her mouth as she continued to play with her fingers.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! No, get away from me! I don't want to die!" she boomed out while away pushing her legs so she can scurry backwards from the insane girl coming at her. Her tears are flying everywhere, mixing with the snot seeping from her nose and her sweat. She continues to back away from her until her body hits a pole on the far right end.

Tsumiki is now hovering over her, a bright smile beaming down on her. Her eyes are swirling with despair, the fog blocking out all forms of light. She continued to chuckle at the small girl as she played with her hands, "Aww, come on Hiyoko-chama, don't be like that! You fell down and see," she points to the smaller girl's right knee, "You scrapped it. I'm just trying to help you. Now stop acting so frightened, a little disinfectant may sting, but it's still better than letting it get infected!" The violet haired nurse then places her hand out, trying to be kind.

"Not if it's coming from you!" boomed out Saionji shoving her hand away, while trying her best to move her stiffened body, "Hajime! Stop her, please! I-I can't move, I-I'm too scared! Hajime save me, please!" Her body lost the adrenaline, and all that was left is her fear.

"S-Saionji-san, why is it always me you pick on?!" cried out Tsumiki in the tone of voice she used before being infected with despair as small little tears formed around her distorted eyes, "I just want to help you! That's all! I just want to help you so you don't get sick! Why do you have to be so mean to me?! I'm sorry if I a useless person, but I still want to help you! So why can't you just forgive me already?! Why?! I just want to be forgiven!" The nurse then started to look down at the wooden floor, crying with her eyes closed and using her hands to mask the tears.

"L-listen Tsumiki! I-I'm sorry for always being mean to you! So please, stop all of this! I forgive you and I'm sorry for always treating you like barf! So just stop this nonsense!" pleaded Saionji with all of her mighty, desperately trying to stay alive. Her eyes are shimmering with fear as tears continued to fall from them.

"Y-you f-forgive me Saionji-san? After being so useless to you, you forgive me?" responded Tsumiki while stopping her crying, but not moving her hands away from her face.

"Yeah! I'm sorry, really sorry! I'm trying my best to be nicer, and I want you to know that!" continued the small girl, hoping that she will be able to continue to live.

Hinata has stopped struggling, thinking that maybe Saionji got though to her. The way she's talking and behaving sounds like the Tsumiki they know. He begins to think that she could be like Komaeda, one minute obsessed with brining despair to see hope, and then the next minute back to normal. He was praying that this is the same case, that they both have the same problem.

"Thanks S-Saionji-san, it's nice to know you accept my apology," she paused for a minute, bathing in the hope that is surrounding her.

"Yeah, no problem. So, you're back to normal, right? You aren't going to kill me, right?" spoke the blonde, the sound of confidence of her life being spared baking in her words. Her own tears even started to dry up due to hope.

"I did say it's nice to know you accepted my apology Hiyoko-chama," started Tsumiki as she pulled her hands away from her face, "It doesn't mean I accept your apology though. You've done far too much to me, both here and there, so I think it's time you are taught a lesson. Bad children do need to be disciplined after all."

All the color drained from Saionji when she heard those words seep out of Tsumiki's mouth, and she can feel her body going limp. Tsumiki then opened her eyes and revealed the distorted swirls, the perverted grin on her face, and her body is shaking with pleasure.

"Tsumiki stop this!" cried out Hinata as he heard her words while starting up his struggle once more, "Don't kill her!" He has to do something, he can't just stand by and watch!

"Now then Hiyoko-chama, its punishment time!" she squealed happily, mimicking Monokuma's style of voice as she pulled something out of her apron. Saionji's eyes widened as she saw her pull out a menacing pair of scissors, letting out an ear-shattering scream. She began to shake violently, unable to move, tears flowing from her eyes once more. The only thing her body is allowing her to do is scream for help, "Hajime, save me please!"

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><p><strong>So, do you think will happen to Saionji? Do you think she's going to make it through thanks to Hinata's magical ahoge power? Anyhow, writing Tsumiki was wonderful. I like her regular character, but in despair mode she is so much more interesting! I tried to make her imitate Junko to an extent considering how obsessed she is with her. Besides that, this is the first time I've written a story like this, so I hope it came out alright. I do feel iffy on some parts of this. With that said, that's it for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed this and please review so I read your opinions!<strong>


	2. Sniping and Poking Away

** Wow, this got more attention than I expected it to get! Thanks random people! This chapter is shorter than the last one by a little, but I still hope you enjoy it! **

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><p><strong>Date Published: 102/14  
><strong>**Word Count: 6,004  
><strong>**Page Count: 9**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Sniping and Poking Away<strong>

"No one can help you now Hiyoko-chama," spoke Tsumiki gleefully as she crouches down so she can look slightly down on the small blonde traditional dancer, "You need to be taught a lesson, and it's only fair that I'm the one who does it! After all, you've done just so many horrible things to me, even if you can't remember them all!"

Saionji can't move, no matter how hard she tells herself to. Fear has basically attached her body to the floor like tree roots, her body trembling against the pole. All she can do is cry and pray for someone, _anyone_, to save her from this lunatic. She closes her eyes, thinking that maybe the despair induced girl would just go away if she doesn't acknowledge her existence.

"Awww, you're just so scared, aren't you? So scared that you could wet yourself like a little baby?" she begins in a twisted form of cheeriness as she strokes her dampened left cheek gently with her free hand, "This fills my whole being up with despair, you know? You were just so hopeful before, and then I crushed it! It's wonderful, isn't it?! This feeling of despair?!"

The blonde tries to keep her eyes shut, knowing that no matter what she does, the nurse will not go away. She also tries to pull her face away from her hands, but her assailant continues onwards without a care. Tsumiki then starts to stroke the pair of scissors lightly on her bare right shoulder, gaining a small squeak of fear and surprise from Saionji. She opens her eyes just enough to see the metal pressing against her skin dangerously, and giving out another small squeal of fear. She quickly turns away from the horrifying sight, trying to find some energy to get away. Even if she does find it, Tsumiki would just kill her before she got anywhere, right?

"You don't like that very much, huh Hiyoko-chama?" asks Tsumiki in a concerned voice, "I'm soooooo sorry for being mean to you Saionji-san! I'm only doing what my beloved expects from me! I can't fail them, now can I?" With those taunting words Tsumiki continues to run the metal against her shoulder, and then moving it across the top of her chest to her other shoulder. The deranged nurse continues to toy with the dancer while laughing happily, as if everything before her is just a fun childish game.

"S-stop this…p-please," pleads out Saionji in a low, terrified voice, her nails digging into the wooden floorboards. She's just so frightened she can't even yell out anymore. All of her energy is being devoured by the fear of death circulating throughout her tiny body, "J-just stop this…please. H-Hajime, come on, help me…y-you have too. I-I don't w-want to die..."

Hinata continues his struggle, trying to think of a way to get Mioda off of him without actually hurting her. If he doesn't do that, then Tsumiki is going to…kill Saionji. He has to do something, some way somehow! He lowers his head, anxiety flowing viciously throughout him, the thoughts of being useless running rampant in his mind. Then he notices that she's wearing hospital slippers, and an idea goes off in his head. He moves his head back up to look at her blank face before stating in a low tone, "I'm sorry about this Mioda, but I have to save Saionji."

With all of his might, he stomps his foot down onto hers. If she didn't have the hospital slippers on, who knows what type of strategy he would have come up with to help Saionji. She lets out a cry of pain and for a moment loosens her grip on his arms, giving him the perfect opportunity to elbow her roughly in the stomach, pull away, and run quickly towards Tsumiki.

"Ohhh, I see that Hajime-chan doesn't want to play nicely," she mumbles as she hears her gullible slave give out a shriek and pulls the scissors away from the blonde's shoulders and up to her neck, tapping it lightly against her carotid artery, "Now that isn't any fun at all is it, huh Hiyoko-chama? I can't fill him up with despair if he doesn't stay put and watch you suffer."

Saionji manages to let out a low yell as she watches the nurse tap against her neck with the metal and hears Hinata yell, "Tsumiki stop it! You don't have to kill her!" before she finally shuts her eyes, waiting for her to slice her neck open.

Seconds tick by like hours, yet the feel of blood seeping from her neck never comes. What she does feel though is the metal being taken away from her neck, which makes her open her eyes to see Tsumiki's face plastered with a gleeful grin. Saionji yet again fills up hope, the idea that maybe Tsumiki changed her mind floating throughout her mind. Her eyes reflect this sudden burst of hope in her stomach, and the nurse just baths in it.

"Hehehehehe, hehehehehe," laughs Tsumiki as she runs her fingers over the blades before shoving it once again towards Saionji, this time near the right side of her face. This causes the blonde to yell out in fear and jerk her body against the poll, creating a thud before she goes silent. She looks away from her, waiting for the impact of metal against her flesh.

"Saionji!" yells Hinata as he sees Tsumiki lunge forward, his legs stopping against his own free will. He hears nothing but silence, fearing that the worst has come true. That he wasn't able to do anything at all! He begins to swell up with self-loathing, that only if he acted sooner he could have stopped Tsumiki! That only if he had some sort of skill like the other students, he could have done something to stop this nightmare!

Hinata shoots his head down, acknowledging his worthlessness. Repeating in his mind that he has no skills at his disposal to stop this situation. Knowing that he failed to save another one of his friends! He balls his hand into a fist and screams out, "Damn it! Damn it all!"

"Hehehehehe, just kidding for now Hiyoko-chama!" he hears Tsumiki say gleefully, "Though seeing you jump like a little bunny was delightful!" Unsure of what she's rambling on about like a cheerful kid playing a game, he lifts his head up. What he sees before him surprises him, yet relieves him as well.

Tsumiki has moved out to the right, a good distance away from them and is sitting on top of her legs. This gives Hinata the perfect view of Saionji. She is still breathing, barely it seems considering how pale she looks, and her eyes reflecting utter terror. She doesn't have any wounds, she isn't bleeding, and she's just lacking some of her…hair? Saionji's right pigtail is cut rather evenly, the strands laying around her. Hinata is confused by this action, and looks over to Tsumiki and screams out as some tears falls out of his eyes, "Are you just screwing with us?! What is the damn point to this?! The point to kill, the point to spread despair, and freaking point to do what Monokuma wants us to do?!" He just can't understand what is going on through her head, no matter how many times she tells him. All he knows is that it hurts to see his friend like this, to see his friend's lives in danger, all of it!

Tsumiki starts to laugh again, wrapping her arms around her chest with drool seeping out, her face flushing red, "I can feel your hope rise and fall like breath! It's delightful! I love seeing how you two start to have hope at the smallest change in my behavior, and then I destroy it all into tiny bits! It's such a powerful and magnificent feeling coursing through my body!"

At this point Hinata feels like he just can't get an explanation out of her that makes any sense. The only thing that matters to her anymore is seeing them suffer. All she cares about is feeling despair, to see them gain hope and then have it destroyed and her relishing in it like some sicko pervert. It's like the Tsumiki he once knew is completely erased, replaced by a girl who looks and sounds the same, but just isn't the same on the inside. It's like her whole entire personality is distorted into a monstrosity that feeds on hope to produce despair. If he continues to hold onto the hope of her returning to normal, he would just be playing into her hands, right? No matter how much he wants her to return to normal, to be that shy, meek, clumsy person, it just won't happen. If he allows himself to believe that a part of her is still in there, she'll just try to kill him, right?

He continues to watch her laugh, enjoying the bizarre feelings surging through her body, her eyes swirling with twisted delight. He stops after a while and walks up to Saionji, who just doesn't seem all there. He can't blame her though, considering how Tsumiki almost killed her. He crouches down to the foul-mouthed girl, rubs her head and places his hand out. She quickly grabs his hand and accepts his help for getting up. When she stands up, her legs are trembling and is holding onto Hinata for dear life. Her legs has gone numb from her fright, and if Hinata lets her go, she will fall right back down.

"H-hinata, do you think we can get away from her?" she asks lowly, moving her arms to clutch around his torso, her head resting against his rib cage, "If we can, you'll have to carry me like a servant you know? I don't think I can walk right now."

He sighs at her words, not thrilled with the concept of him being her own personal servant at a time like this. Telling her to watch her tongue though can be held off till later, "I can do that, but what are we supposed to do about Mioda? I can't drag her with me if she's thinking she's Tsumiki's servant." Hinata's eyes doesn't leave Tsumiki, who has calmed down from her fit of laughter. All she is doing now is looking at the floor and playing with her pair of scissors, her hair covering her face. He's sure he could shove her out-of-the-way and run, considering the nurse isn't that strong. If he escapes with Saionji, whose small size will be to his advantage, Mioda would be left to die.

"All we can do is leave her. Tsumiki was going to kill her before, and I say let her kill her. I just want to get out of here alive and see that crazy bitch executed," spoke the small girl, with animosity mixed with her dread, "It's better for two people to escape than for two to die."

"I can't do that!" he almost yells at her, still watching the despair lover messing around with her weapon. How could he abandon someone and leave them to die? He couldn't live with himself if he ran away and let Tsumiki kill her, "There has to be some other way!"

"Then why don't you do something about Tsumiki!" replied Saionji, trying to keep her voice from breaking into a sob, "You can knock her out or something, right? You're a boy that means you're strong, right? Then stop her so no one has to die!" She starts to cry again, unable to stop. She doesn't want to condemn anyone to death, but what else are they supposed to do? Just stand around and try to handle an almost impossible situation? It would be no different from a suicide mission! It's better to have one murdered than two!

Hinata relocates his eyes down to the small girl clinging to him, crying her eyes out again. He could possibly fight off Tsumiki, if he managed to disarm her. At the same time, she could easily go after Saionji if she got around him. She is in no state to do anything right now except cry, and that makes her an easy target. Tsumiki also has the advantage of having a second person. Hinata has almost no experience in fighting, and dealing with a basically brainwashed Mioda and a scissors wilding Tsumiki doesn't sound like good odds. If he had a weapon of some sort he might have a better chance, but even then would he even be able to do anything? Could he find the strength to wield a weapon against his friends just so he could defend himself?

His current situation is like an escort mission in a video game. He has to find a way to protect both himself and Saionji who can't even walk, find a way to fend off both Tsumiki and Mioda, and then finally find a way to knock out the nurse so she doesn't kill anyone. If someone else was here with him, then maybe his odds would be higher. Even so, what can he do by himself to get a good ending and have all of the students live?

"I-I'll find a way out of here Saionji, I know I can," he states with doubt in his mind and seeping into his words. He knows the situation he is in looks bleak, but the only thing he can do is try to stay alive, "I'll do whatever is in my-," he stops as he lifts his head up to come face to face with Tsumiki. He jumps backwards a tiny bit, taking along the small girl clinging tightly to him.

"Hajime-chan, did you really think I was going to just stand around and let you run away? I don't mind you making a plan to escape, because in the end you'll lose and create despair! I have high _hopes_ for everyone to fall into despair and spread it around just like-," she explains and then stops while shaking her head back and forth, "No. Nope. I won't spoil the fun just yet!" she continues with a small smile before her voice starts to turn meek, "You think I'm worthless too, right? That I can't do anything right at all, correct? I know I'm bad at everything, and I'm sorry for it. I really am sorry for being so imprudent, so please forgive me for that."

"Tsumiki?" he asks while pulling Saionji backwards with him even further. If she wasn't this light, they would be in big trouble right about now. At this rate they are going to run into the stage curtain. He begins to ponder for a moment about what she meant, but quickly shoves the thought to the back of his mind. He can think about it all he wants after they get away from her.

His mind begins to race even more though, his heart pounding, and his blood going frigid. The nurse has the weapon tightly in her hand, ready to strike at any given second. No matter what he does, she could easily get the upper hand on him. If he lunges, he can shove her away but would probably get stabbed. If Saionji could move, he could stall Tsumiki and she could go and get help, if she managed to avoid Mioda. If he did get the upper hand, all Tsumiki would need to do is order Mioda to help her or go after Saionji. No matter what he thinks of, the two are likely screwed. They basically need a miracle to occur to save their lives from this despair induced nurse.

"Even so, I'm not going to let you two get away. If I did, I wouldn't be able to spread despair around to everyone! If I didn't do that, my beloved wouldn't be happy with me when I finally meet up with them again. I don't want that to happen, not at all," she continues while walking closer to the two students in a slow and menacing pace, gripping her weapon even tighter.

He knows reasoning will not get him anywhere, he has already tried and failed at that. Fighting her off is the only option he has available right now. He's weak and he knows it, but Tsumiki doesn't. If he at least tries, then maybe he can get the upper hand. That percentage is small though, but as long as he has hope he can try.

At long last Tsumiki thrusts at them, reading her scissors to stab him anywhere she can get to. Hinata quickly responds to her attack and pushes himself and Saionji to their right and onto the ground, yet he still gets cut on his cheek. Hinata rapidly pulls up from on top of Saionji, ignoring the stinging pain in his cheek, repositions his body, and thrusts his left hand out to grab her hand with the scissors. When it comes to physical strength, she can't beat him no matter how hard she tries! Tsumiki struggles against him, and pulls back in hope of getting him off of her, but Hinata presses forwards with his strength while making sure not to trip over Saionji.

The two continues to struggle over the weapon before Tsumiki begins to lose both her footing and grasp on the piece of metal. If anything, it is nice to know that she is still a complete klutz. This gives Hinata the opening he needs to move his right arm forward and punches her in the stomach with as much force he can get into it. She releases a painful screech as she loses her grip on the scissors and falls onto her right side. This one move allows Hinata to take the scissors into his own hands and back away from her. For a minute he's shocked over the fact that he managed to get both the weapon and Tsumiki down without him getting fatally wounded. Even so, he begins to feel relieved that things worked out for his advantage.

Tsumiki turns over on her side, holding onto her stomach with a vise like grip while screaming out in pain from both the punch and the fall. From behind, Hinata hears Saionji squeal out in joy, "Yeah! Way to go Hinata! I guess you could make me a good servant after all!"

He sighs at that comment, she is really obsessed with servants huh? Even so, it's over now. He raises his hand to touch his bleeding face, and pulls away from the stinging sensation. He then looks over at the nurse in pain and declares victoriously, "You can't win this match Tsumiki, your despair couldn't beat my hope. To be more accurate, you just aren't as strong as me." Now he has to think of what he needs to do next. He has her weapon, no one is dead, and there is rope. He can just tie her up and then wait till morning to discuss the situation with everyone else. In the end, they'll likely have to shove her into the older building like they did with Komaeda. Though he doubts anyone is going to want to get near her like this. The vast majority didn't want to get near the hope lover, he doubts anyone is going to want to get close to the despair lover.

Still grasping her stomach with her right hand in her apron, she cries out, "I-I can't lose here! I haven't done anything yet! I need to spread despair for my beloved! Ibuki-chan, go-," she's cut off the very minute Hinata walks up and crouches down to her and puts the scissors to her throat.

His eyes are abnormally cold, but he's doing what he must, "That's enough Tsumiki. I've beaten you, so just shut up and give up already. No one is going to die here, and I'm not going to let you order her around like some slave to do your damn dirty work!" He sounds vicious, his eyes burning and freezing at the same time. The idea of his friends being treated like toys makes him made, but using someone for their own perverted, filthy dirty work pisses him off! Especially when the person is someone he's close to and can't even make their own decisions!

Tsumiki laughs at him in an innocent manner, and looks up at him with a pair of normal and pleading eyes, "You and I both know you won't do anything to me with those scissors, so why don't you just put them down Hajime-chan? You won't kill me because you don't want to be executed. Me on the other hand, I really don't mind if I live or die. If I live, I will just continue to try to spread despair around. If I die, then I can be with my beloved. Either way you look at it, I'm happy in the end!"

"W-what the hell is wrong with you?!" he yells at her, but doesn't pull the blades away from her, "Being dead won't do you any good! Why can't you just…," he stops, knowing that whatever he says will just go on deft ears. No matter how much he talks to her, no matter how hard he tries to get her to stop, she'll just continue rambling on about the same stuff. She'll never listen to any sort of reasonable logic. The Tsumiki he knew is long gone…

"By the way, it's really sweet to see how concerned you are over her," began Tsumiki, changing her tone from innocent to somewhat sarcastic, "Having people close to your heart is always important. Like for me, the image of my beloved in my mind helps me continue towards our shared dream of spreading despair. After all, they are the only one that has ever cared about me! It's not like any of you were ever nice to poor, lonely, abused little Mikan."

He doesn't interrupt her sentence, yet who this beloved is and why the person doesn't have a gender confuses him. For a minute he wonders if this person even exists, "For you though Hajime-chan, I can use it against you! You know, Fuyuhiko-chan felt much despair while watching Peko-chan's execution. The feelings of helplessness, the inability to help someone you care for immensely, the sense of being worthless swirling around. That's what despair does to a person, it makes them suffer and break down until they accept it into their bodies and thrive off of it! So you know, I can always do the exact same thing to you! I don't need to kill anyone, I can just torture you into submission! How does that sound? Doesn't it sound great to watch the people you care about suffer just like I did?"

"Like hell I'm going to let you do that!" he shouts back at her, anger filling him up, "I'm not going to let you get near anyone, you hear me?! There is no way I'm going to let you have your way!" Hinata knows she's dead serious about that. She is completely enthusiastic to tie him up and make him watch his friends suffer at her hands. It's as if she wants him to suffer the most out of all of them. To have him filled with the brim of despair to change into something else.

"Ahhh, Hajime-chan doesn't want to watch little Hiyoko-chama suffer? You know she deserves it! You've seen the way she treats me, the things she does to me! All of those cruel names she always throws at me! That isn't counting what she and her other friends did to me back then! They all were just so cruel and mean! No matter how many times I said sorry they just wouldn't forgive me and continued to torture me! I apologized and apologized again and again yet they didn't forgive me!" she hollers at him, rage swirling around her eyes. She even has small tears seeping out.

Hinata doesn't speak, but thinks. That maybe the reason why she's like this is because of what the small girl did back then. He can't remember, but their personalities are generally the same, right? Then maybe the reason she allowed herself to fall into despair was because of her pain. If no one was kind to her, if she suffered through verbal abuse all alone with all that pain building up, she was bound to break. Everyone has a point where they just can't take anymore, where they just want others to suffer in the name of revenge.

Even so, despite all her pain, he can't just allow her to do whatever she wants, "I'm sorry to hear that Tsumiki, but that doesn't mean you have the right to torture or kill anyone. I understand that Saionji can be a total whiny little bitch," he hears her yell at him but pays no heed to those irritated words, "Though it doesn't mean she deserves to suffer like that. She needs to be placed in line, not to be tortured and left as nothing more than a bloody kimono."

Tsumiki doesn't respond to that but continues onwards, "Then what about Ibuki-chan? How would you feel if I tied and cut her up with guitar strings? Maybe bash her head in with one? Oh I know, blast music so loud to cause her ears to bleed and eventually cause her brain to melt away into a gooey liquid? I can make her writhe in such pain to make you fall into the despair of incompetence if you want," she smirks with a wide grin, her eyes glistening with the despair fog of distorted pleasure.

"What did she do to you, huh?! I can understand your hatred towards Saionji," he hears her asking him whose side he is on this time, "But what did she do?!" If there is any way to get him riled up, put someone he cares about in a harmful situation. He can understand just why she wants Saionji to suffer, and he can't say she doesn't deserve to get reprimanded in some fashion. Yet Mioda, what the hell could she have done to Tsumiki? She can be annoying and overbearing, but he has never taken her as a complete asshole.

"Oh Hajime-chan, seeing you get so mad when I threaten her is wonderful, you know? To know that I can break you by making someone close to you suffer. It would be great to see _him_ join this killing game, and perhaps all I have to do is make you and everyone else suffer!" she's rather gleeful now. She's smiling widely, her eyes covered in fog and swirls, and thoughts rushing all about her mind.

"Who are you talking about? Who is th-," he stops midsentence as he feels something in spreading through his stomach. A sudden rush of pain hits him from out of nowhere, making his legs wobble and his grip lighten on the scissors. He looks down to see something staining the lower part of his shirt, parts of his tie, and seeping onto his pants. Tsumiki is leaning up now, her body away from the weapon, and holding something in her right hand. A sinister smile is dancing across her face, her eyes shining with twisted joy. He uses his free hand to touch his stomach to feel a sticky liquid seeping slowly out of him. He pulls up his hand to see it bathed in bright pink liquid. It's blood…_his_ blood.

"T-Tsumiki, gaaaahhhh," he mumbles while the pain starts to intensify. He notices that the thing in her hand is a scalpel, most likely from the hospital. His blood continues to escape from his stomach, bathing the wood floor with his bright fluids. The color starts to spread across his clothes, and he can feel it starting to leek down his body, "Gaaahhh, d-damn it gaaahhh!" he yells out as his brain finally catches up with what is happening to his body.

She slashed up his stomach without him evening noticing. He was just so occupied with understanding her motives, why she wants him to fall into despair by hurting his friends, and who this other person he completely let his guard down. He left his stomach completely exposed to her from the way he was crouching down. He should have checked her apron just in case she had any other weapons. He screwed up big time.

With whatever strength he has left he stands up and wobbles backwards away from her, trying to keep himself from yelling to loud from the pain. He has his left arm wrapped around his stomach, and he hears Saionji yelling in terror, pleading that he stay alive. He manages to walk near the blonde before collapsing onto his right side and sending the scissors flying towards her.

"Hehehe, hehehe, ahahahahaha!" he hears Tsumiki yell out as he continues to hold onto his wound tightly, feeling his blood smashing against his skin, "Did you think I only had one weapon Hajim-chan? Seeing you filled with the joy of victory left you completely unprotected, you know? It feels me up with despair, seeing you like this!"

He doesn't respond to her, all he can do is gasp for breath as he begins to feel light headed. He's must be losing too much blood, and he doesn't even know how wide the wound is. With a cry of pain he uses his left hand to pull up his shirt. He sees a vertical incision about six inches starting from below his bellybutton. The cut isn't wide, but it must have went in deep to allow it to bleed so much. He cries out in pain some more as he tries to move his body.

"Poor poor Hajime-chan," he hears her say in a taunting voice as she walks up to him with her blade, "Blade number 18 is used for deep cuts during surgery, and I knew taking it with me was a good idea. You just never know when you may need to cut someone up," she's smirking at him. She looks like she's having just so much fun, seeing him in pain.

He turns his head upwards to try to get a glimpse of Saionji. She's crying out his name, "H-Hajime! Wahhhhhhhhhhh! D-don't die! Don't l-leave me alone! I-I don't want anyone else to die! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Damn…it!" he yells out in both anger and extreme pain, "T-Tsumiki! H-how do you, guahhh, e-expect to t-t-gaahhh-torture me like this?" Everything around him is starting to blur, yet he can see her face perfectly. He feels his body going numb, and the color starting to fade from his eyes. Tsumiki sits down in front of him, playing with his ahoge without a care

"Heheheheh," she laughs at him happily, "Poor poor Hajime-chan. Do you want some help? I know I'm not that useful, but I can fix you up in a jiffy!" She continues to tease him, "You want me to torture some more, don't you? We all know just how sick you really are _deep down inside_. Well, I guess I'm the only one who remembers that right now! Oh well, hehehehe! Anyhow, come on Hajime-chan, beg me to help you! You know I can help you, it's the only thing I am good at after all!"

He smirks at her, "Go to, gahhhh, hell bitch." This isn't Tsumiki. The real one would have never slashed his stomach open. So it's alright to insult her, tell her off as much as he possibly can. He has to stay strong till the very end. He knows he's going to die, he can feel it swirling inside of him.

"Aren't you cheeky today!" she responds happily while placing the surgical knife to his bleeding stomach, making another incision. Pain rushes through him again, causing him to arch his back and yell out, "You know Hajime-chan, insulting me will only make things worse for you. You should just surrender yourself to me so I can help you!"

"Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" yells out Saionji in a panicked voice, "Stop hurting Hajime! Wahhhhhhhhhhh!" She continues to cry like a baby. She doesn't move an inch, her body doesn't want to and her brain agrees with it. She's just holding onto the sleeves of her kimono, crying, and not wanting to see any more of the bloody conflict.

"Now why should I do that? I want you all to suffer, to fall into despair. This is a fun way for it to happen! This brings back memories of the good old days," she states while now pocking at the open wounds, teasing the scared flesh. She continues to make tiny little cuts into his skin, so small yet so excruciating. She then uses her hand to press her fingers against his wound, swishing the blood against her fingers, riling him in pain.

"I've missed doing this soooooo much!" she screams out in joy, pushing her fingers into the folds of his skin, pressing down on it immensely while her other hand starts to lightly cut around his stomach. She continues to make more cuts on his body, pushing her fingers deeper into his cuts, enjoying the painful cries emanating from his mouth.

"STOP THIS!" yells Saionji with all of her might, her head now in her lap, her hands covering her ears, "Just stop this! All of this! Wahhhhhhhhhhh!" She can't take his cries of pain, she doesn't want to see his blood, and she sure as hell doesn't want to see Tsumiki's face.

"How about no? This is how to make people suffer and feel despair! You know Hajime-chan, I was just going to kill them. The moment I saw you though, you reminded me of something! Of all of the fun I had back then, so I decided to change my plan. What's the point of just killing them when you can just torture them? Being tortured to death is much murkier, wouldn't you say? It spreads despair much quicker that way."

Hinata just looks at her, feeling his consciousness slipping away from the pain. He doesn't even have the willpower to scream out anymore. His eyes lack any sense of emotions besides pain. He doesn't say a words to Tsumiki, smirking at her with what little energy he has left. If this is what she calls torture, he's fine with it. She could have done much worse things to him. This though, he much rather be killed himself than watch any of his friends undergo an agonizing death. He knows that one more will be killed, but at least he managed to save someone. It's better to die than to survive and know you couldn't help anyone.

He turns his head away from her to look at Saionji crying. Then over to the emotionless blank sheet that is Mioda. Finally he stops at Tsumiki. She'll kill one of these girls, and all he can do is pray that everyone else can find the truth. To solve the mystery behind his and one of these girls death. Then to finally escape this island for once and for all.

_"I'm sorry for not saving you all, so please forgive. Nanami, Komaeda, you two better prove that she's my killer. I don't want another exaction, but I much rather have the truth to be revealed than for it to remain a mystery,"_ he thinks to himself, believing that those will end up being his final words. He looks away from the deranged nurse he once called his friend and up to the ceiling. He closes his eyes, accepting the lethargy into his body. He accepts his end, knowing that it isn't Tsumiki's fault, but Monokuma's. That everything that has transpired here because of that bear and knows that his friends will find a way to beat him.

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><p><strong>And that's that! It was a total reversal for Hajime, huh? Poor fellow, I abuse fictional characters too much. Anyhow, I haven't really written stories like this before (I usually write fluff) so I hope it came out good. Anyhow I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned, and make sure to review please!<strong>


	3. What Will You Do Now Hiyoko-chama?

**I'm sorry about the delay, I've been slammed with nothing but work lately. Mass Communications is evil, completely evil I say. Sorry for it being shorter as well, this chapter was a pain for me to write for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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><p><strong>Date Published: 1012/14  
><strong>**Word Count: 5,071  
><strong>**Page Count: 7**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: What Will You Do Now Hiyoko-chama? <strong>

"Oh, what's this? Did you lose your will to stay alive Hajime-chan? How are you going to save your friends if you die like this?" speaks Tsumiki as she notices his eyes closing, the pain leaving his face. She waits for him to say something to her, to insult her while his voice cracks with pain, but no words leaves his mouth. He remains silent as she removes her bloodied hands away from his lower abdominal. A small frown of annoyance crosses her face, her eyes tinting in aggravation. She then moves her free hand to his neck, checking for a pulse.

"You monster! You killed him! How could you?! He was your friend, one of the few people who didn't think you're pig barf! He was one of the few people who treated you like a person and all you did was torture him to death! Wahhhhhhhhhhhh!" yells Saionji who has removed her face from her lap. Tears and snot are mixed together and are stained all over, her face ridden with revulsion and dread. Her legs are trembling underneath her, along with the feeling of agony washing over her as she looks at Hinata's body. Yet again she has to see something horrible like this! Wasn't it bad enough when she found Mahiru-nee dead? Why did she have to watch someone die? Why did she have to hear his painful cries and see his body end up like that?! What did she or Hinata do to deserve to be stuck in this hell?!

Tsumiki doesn't respond to her insult, acting as if Saionji isn't even in the room. As if she is nothing more than an annoying little ant that will just be crushed by the cruelty and despair of the world. She quickly pulls his tie off of him and press it against his stomach forcefully, trying to prevent any more blood from hitting the floor. She then turns her head over to Mioda and speaks in a solemn voice, "Ibuki-chan, come here and put pressure on his wound. I need to get some supplies to keep him from dying. It's too soon for him to take his leave from this game, I'm only getting started!" She can't let him die just yet. She hasn't given him enough despair! He has to suffer more, to see the people he cares about bleed out and die while he is unable to do anything at all! Now that is true despair, to be unable to die and forced to watch his friends writhe with the ultimate agony!

Mioda walks up to her and nods her head simply without a trace of emotion on her face. As if the person bleeding out before her doesn't matter at all, just like a small insect. Tsumiki moves out-of-the-way enough for Mioda to sit on the floor and take her place. With her replacement taking care of her victim, Tsumiki stands up and walks off of the stage towards the bar. While she's walking she yells out blissfully to Saionji while waving a bloodied hand in the air, "Why don't you try to run Hiyoko-chama? I'm sure even someone as useless and stupid as me will be able to stop you! Try and run away with the hope you cling too and see how far it can get you! In the end it'll just bring you back to despair because no one can escape it! Ahahahahahaha!"

Saionji's face twists with hatred and fright. She can't take this anymore, but what can she do?! She's finally starting to regain feeling in her legs, and her brain is telling her to move. To run as far away as possible from this deranged bitch. That she just can't sit around here like a little baby and hope for someone to save her. That she needs to go get help from the remaining students to save Hinata and stop Tsumiki's deranged plot. She's surprised and exultant that he's alive, but for how much longer is the true question. The nurse may be able to save him, but that doesn't mean she won't kill him later. He placed his life in danger to help protect her, and now he's down for the count. She can't just sit here and accept her death like she did before!

_"Hinata protected me, saved me from her basically! I'm scared, but I can't just stay here and let him die! He could have just let me die and saved himself, but he placed himself in danger for a bratty little girl like me!"_ she screams out to herself as watches Mioda putting pressure on his wound, _"If I just sit here and do nothing, then he'll just suffer even more. Tsumiki wants us to fall into despair, and if I just give up and cry I'll be doing exactly what she wants! I have to find a way to go get help! I need to save Hinata! I can't be afraid of her!"_

She darts her eyes around the room, her body filling up with determination. She has to do something for the sake of her friend! She has to save herself and Hinata! She's a rather terrible person, yet he still placed himself in danger just so she can stay alive! So she can't act like a frightened little baby now! She needs to do something, _anything_ to get away from here! She looks over towards the bar, seeing Tsumiki fiddling with something quickly. She must be looking for a washcloth, some anti-infective ointment, and a roll of bandages. If she cleans out and disinfects the wound and patches him up, he might be able to live.

"_No, I know Hajime won't let himself die this easily! If Kuzuryu lived after losing his eye and cutting open his stomach like a dummy then I'm sure Hajime will live! Even if Tsumiki is totally bat-shit crazy, she's still a nurse. She knows how to save him!"_ she thinks while watching the nurse intently. She'll be able to save his life just so she can torture him some more.

She'll save him just to make him suffer more. Stab him, cut him, terrorize him, and who knows what else. Saionji doesn't even want to think what she plans on doing to her. She's treated Tsumiki so horribly in the past that she could come up with anything to make her pay. To make her feel the same pain she most definitely inflicted on the nurse time and time again. Only God and Tsumiki knows the shit she put her through before they lost their memories. Saionji is sure that whatever she did, wasn't kind and more than likely dehumanizing. She doesn't want to go through hell like that, and she doesn't want Hinata to suffer for something she did!

Saionji moves her eyes yet again, this time to the pair of scissors laying out before her. Hinata made sure to send it flying over to her when he got hurt. He wants her to stay alive and get help. He wants her to use it to protect herself and get the hell away from Tsumiki, even if she has to attack her. She wonders if she can attack her. The despairing girl has shown that she's willing to do anything to them for the sake of spreading her beloved despair. She won't hold back on anyone unless she plans to torture them some more later.

She reaches her hand outwards and grabs the piece of metal securely. She pulls it to her face and stares at it, _"I-I'll do it. I don't want to, but I will. If either of them gets near me I have to attack them. If I don't, then I'm going to be the one who dies! I don't want to die! If I do, everything Hajime has done for me will go to utter waste! I want to live and get off of this island so I can go back to my normal life!"_ she yells out in her head furiously. She feels the tears building up in her eyes again, the need to cry invading her stomach, but quickly rubs the tears away with the long sleeve of her kimono. No matter what, she has to live and save Hinata! If she just sits here and does nothing at all, then everything Hinata has done will just go to waste. She has to do everything in her power to stop this and get help! If she doesn't, she'll remain as an uncouth and terrible cowards till she dies. She wants to change, and staying here and dying will change nothing!

She wobbles upwards, holding onto her kimono and the scissors tightly while trying to not tumble over. Tsumiki is still busy getting things together, and isn't paying any attention to her. The only orders she gave to Mioda is to put pressure on Hinata's wounds, nothing more or less. The currently manipulated girl is putting all of her attention to keeping Hinata alive. Saionji ponders for a moment if she's just following orders or actually wants him to stay alive. With this bizarre disease, she can't figure out how much of a person's personality is still present during their actions. It'd be nice if Mioda would snap out of it and be on her side, but that isn't going to happen any time soon. All she can do is believe and relay on herself to get out.

_"Alright, all I have to do is make it to the door! Mioda doesn't care about me and if I can sneak by Tsumiki without her noticing I'll be home free! Even if she's crazy, she's still clumsy pig barf that won't be able to keep up with me! She'll likely trip over air like the idiot she truly is and then I'll be able to get help to stop her and save Hajime! That way no one has to die!"_ she yells at herself with a fierce determination. Earlier she was willing to die out of fear, but now she can't. This new-found will power is going to be the hope she clings to stop Tsumiki! If she lets fear take control over her once more, then Hinata will be the one suffering the consequences of her stupidly childish actions.

Tsumiki suddenly turns her back to Saionji and turns on the faucet in the bar, more than likely wetting a piece of cloth. This is the moment she needs! While she has her back turned, all Saionji has to do is run like she's being chased by a demon while being as silent as possible. All she has to do is run as fast as her legs will allow her and reach the motel to get help. By herself she can't fight, but by getting the rest of the group she's sure they'll be able to overpower Tsumiki. Then all they will need to do is tie her up and take care of Hinata!

Saionji makes her move and starts to walk quickly across the stage. Mioda doesn't move an inch, nor glance over to her. She's too intent on following her current orders to care about what she's up to. The small blond lowers herself off the stage gently, trying to be as silent as she can and not injure herself. She looks over towards Tsumiki whose back is still turned.

The dancer looks at the door, taking in a deep breath. Despite being so close, she already feels her legs giving out due to her fright. That the despair induced girl can turn around at any given moment and go after her. That she can tell Mioda to stop helping Hinata and go after her instead. That she will not be able to get away from this place and die a painful death.

She isn't cut out for this. No matter how much she talks, she can never follow-up with her actions. She recalls many times were she said she'll do something, but doesn't because she's too afraid to do it. She can insult people, yet the moment someone threatens her she starts to cry and runs away. She has no true will power, she acts tough but when the decisive moment hits she can't do anything at all. She's just plain out weak. She's pathetic little girl who can never back up any of her words. Her words are probably the reason why Tsumiki ended up like this. That all of her insults finally broke her into a billion little pieces and caused her to transform into this insane person. Everything here, Tsumiki losing it, Hinata protecting her and getting hurt, Mioda almost getting kill, this is all a direct response to her actions, right?

_"This isn't the time to be afraid!"_ she yells out to herself as she starts to walk slowly, tears finally falling from her eyes, _"I have to run! I have to save him! If I stay here we will just die! I'm afraid of staying here and dying, I'm afraid of running away and dying, I'm just a damn coward! Even so, even so…!" _she finally starts to quicken her pace, her heart throbbing against her chest, _"I have to run, run, run, and not be afraid! If I'm afraid, then I'll won't be able to do anything! I have to be strong, just like Mahiru-nee would want me to be!"_

She finally breaks out into running, moving as fast as her body allows her to. Everything about this situation terrifies her. If she dies doing nothing, that proves she's a cowards. If she manages to run away and get help, that proves she's becoming stronger! She doesn't want to be weak anymore! No matter how afraid she is, no matter how much she wants to stop and crawl into a corner and cry, she can't stop moving! If she does stop, her decision will ruin more than just her own life! She can't let that happen!

When she runs past Tsumiki, Saionji turns her head and looks at her. Maybe it's just her frightened mind playing tricks, but the whole world starts to slow down. At that exact instant, as if she just sensed something, Tsumiki turns her own head to look at her. Saionji sees nothing more than a deranged, twisted, and perverted grin plastered all over her once fragile face. Her eyes is filled with swirly and overwhelming despair, and she calls out to the blond in a blissfully gleeful manner as she twists her head sideways, "What will you do now Hiyoko-chama? Run away like a little rabbit and get help, or get eaten by the big bad wolf?"

Saionji's irises shrink as she feels her blood going frigid and she lets out a glass shattering shriek. The look on her face doesn't even look _human_ anymore, and it causes all of the color leaving her face. Her legs start to move faster than before when the world starts to turn normally again, her fear and desire to live pushing her towards the door. She hears Tsumiki yelling as she pushes the doors open aggressively, "Ibuki-chan, go after her and bring her back here in one piece! Or in a few pieces if you want, just make sure she's alive enough to be patched up and tortured later! I would rather do it myself, but I need to take care of Hajime-chan! Hiyoko-chama, embrace yourself in your hope for now, because in the end it'll fade away and surround you in misty despair!"

"As you wish Mikan-sama," speaks Mioda simply, her eyes lingering on Hinata's body for a few seconds before walking towards the front of the stage and jumping down. She then breaks out in a sprint after Saionji, her eyes frightening detached from the world. As she runs past the lady she views as her master she speaks quickly, "Do your best to help Hajime Mikan-sama," and then she's out of the venue.

Tsumiki walks up to the stage where Hinata lays, relishing in the despair that she can't watch Saionji get tackled down and dragged back. All of the desperate cries that she'll never ever get to hear, the utter fear in her eyes, and so much more. It sounds wonderful to her, having a girl who is scared shitless trying to reach out to the hope of being saved just to be brought back into despair. Back to the place where Saionji will suffer repeatedly just like she did in the past, and the place that will be dyed in her blood.

"I wonder I wonder Hajime-chan," speaks Tsumiki happily while tossing his ruined tie away and cleaning out his wound with a dishcloth, gaining a small response out of him, "Will the little bunny get away and beat me? Or will the big wolf drag her back so I can torture her?" As she sterilizes his large cut he continues to cry out in pain, "I'm sorry Hajime-chan, I don't want to be so ruff with you. I hope you can forgive me for hurting you. I'm such a terrible nurse, aren't I? I can't even help you out without causing you to be in terrible pain. I'm sorry Hajime-chan, so very sorry for everything I do to you."

As she assists the unconscious boy, she doesn't stop talking to him, "I also noted something interesting Hajime-chan. I believed that when the Despair Disease infected a person, they behave in accordance to the trait of the illness afflicting them. I didn't think that their personality and ideals could seep through, but Ibuki-chan proved me wrong just now. I shouldn't be surprised though, I'm such a useless and terrible person after all. Of course I would get things wrong, that's what trash does. The only possible reason I can see this happening though is that she's closer to you than I originally thought. I wonder how I will be able to use this to my advantage in the future. That is, if there is a future after this."

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><p>"Why is it that the one person that is being manipulated has to be the one who likes to run?!" yells out Saionji as she continues to run away from the venue, trying to keep her kimono from slipping. The moon is shining brightly over her, the only noise being generated is her light pants and the sound of feet hitting roughly against the ground.<p>

She might be small and physically weak, but she does have good stamina from all of her dancing. So running isn't the problem she's having here, it's her damn outfit! She is trying to keep her kimono from slipping all over and getting in front of her feet and tripping her. Her shoes isn't making her escape any easier either. Geta's aren't the best of footwear for running away in. At the rate this is going, she's likely to get injured due to gravity rather than the almost demonic like girl chasing after her.

When she looks behind her, Mioda is starting to catch up to her. Now it's like she truly is being chased by a demon. Saionji recalls seeing her running all over the place without showing a sign of fatigue with a zombie like Hinata following behind her. She also heard him state he couldn't understand how she couldn't be tried after running around the island five times without a break. All that information is telling her she is freaking screwed. She might be able to run, but she's likely to slow down because of her clothing. That is going to make her an easy target. Even so, she tells herself that she isn't going to lose like this. That she's going to make it somehow!

_"It shouldn't be far now!"_ yells Saionji in her mind, trying to keep a fast pace and getting her cloths to stay in place, _"As long as I get to the motel, they'll be able to help me_!_"_ The buildings on the island aren't that far apart, maybe a ten to fifteen minute walk from each one. She's not sure how long she has been running, but her gut is telling her she's getting close. Yet so is the girl behind her.

The blond turns her head to look behind her yet again, seeing that Mioda is closer to her than before. Her face is stoic, even frightening considering her normal attitude, with no signs of exhaustion or any sentiments. All she sees is a blank face that is getting closer and closer to her as time ticks on. The closer she gets, the more the small girl pushes her body to go faster. The more she feels the dread swooshing around her, mixing with her sweat and tears.

Then the worst thing happens. She loses her grip on her kimono and it moves down in front of her foot and causes her to stumble and land on her face. A complete cliché out of a horror film, yet so very unraveling when you're the one in the life or death situation. She quickly places both palms on the ground and lifts her body up on the and like a track runner, and places all of her strength behind her legs and push off to get going again. She gets going without a problem while ignoring the pain thrashing wildly through her, yet at a cost. That stumble gave Mioda the chance to catch up with the dancer. She can now easily reach her hand out and pull her back if she was given the perfect opportunity.

Saionji then starts to feel her body giving out from the combined fear, pain from the fall, and utter exhaustion. She hasn't had any sleep, she hasn't eaten in a good while, and this situation is making it harder on her small and rather weak body. Even so, despite her body wanting to give up, she keeps going. She's still afraid, but with the desire to live coursing through her. That is the very thing that is keeping her going, despite the need to lay down and breath. She doesn't want to die, much less as a coward. She wants to live and become a better individual, the type of person that someone can look up to! The type of person that can help others in need and can be trusted in to get the job done!

_"I can't stop now, I'm almost there! I have to get help! I have to stop Tsumiki! It's all my fault that this is happening in the first place! I'm all to blame for her actions, and for Hajiime getting hurt so badly! I just can't give up now that I've come so far! If I do that, Mahiru-nee would get mad at me! I don't want to disappoint her after all she did for me!"_ she shouts to herself, those words keeping her body moving forward. The adrenaline is starting to fade away from her tired out body, but those words are the things helping her get by. When her eyes settle on the sign and parking lot of the motel she breaths out a sigh of relief and thinks victoriously, _"You're not going to win this time Tsumiki you stupid insane pig barf! My hope will beat that stupid despair of yours! Everyone will beat you and no one will have to die!"_

She continues to push herself forward, ignoring the pain coursing through her. Her legs are burning intensely, her feet are aching, her free hand is starting to throb, along with the need to catch her breath and drink a lot of water. The moment she enters the parking lot and sees the doors and windows of the rooms in the distance, she feels the need to fall to the ground and cry out to her friends. She doesn't collapse to the ground, but she does cry out with all of her might, "Everyone! Wake up, I need your help immediately!" People have always called her a loud mouth considering how far away someone could hear her crying. She has never been happier to be known as that in her whole life.

"Everyone, please, wake up!" she yells out louder than before, tears falling from her eyes. She is about to speak some more when Mioda grabs her a part kimono and pulls her back intensely. Instead of shouting out please she just yells commands, "Let me go you brainwashed zombie! I order you to let me go!"

"That is something I cannot do, Mikan-sama ordered me to bring you back," explains Mioda simply while wrapping her left arm tightly around her neck, choking her lightly, "I am to bring you back alive, and I will follow that order."

"Gahh!" she yells out, feeling the pressure on her throat. If she continues to do this for too long she's going to pass out. She can't let that happen no matter what! She needs to help Hinata and stop Tsumiki! With what strength she has left in her, she raises her right arm with the scissors with her eyes closed and slashes at Mioda's arm messily.

She yells out in pain and pulls away her body and arm from the blond. She is now grasping her now bleeding arm, cursing at the pain. Saionji lungs forward, coughing as air enters her lungs yet again, stumbling a bit. She then quickly yells with what oxygen she managed to get back into her, "Come on guys, wake up! I need your help here! Tsumiki's gone nuts, Mioda's following her orders like a slave, and Hinata is seriously hurt! I need your help! We have to do something before Tsumiki kills anyone!" She moves forward towards one of the rooms slowly out of complete exhaustion, unsure of who is inside. Who it doesn't matter as long as the person hears her pleas and help her out in any way possible.

She doesn't get very far though, for she feels a body pressing roughly against her back as an arm wraps around her neck again, choking her even harder. Mioda is choking her with her left arm, ignoring the blood dripping everywhere. She struggles and struggles, trying to break out Mioda's tight grasp. She then tries to slash her with the scissors again, but moves her up arm too slowly as her vision starts to fade. Mioda ends up grasping her right wrist tightly, her nails digging into her skin painfully as she continues to strangle her. She stares at the door and window as she struggles against her attacker, waiting for one of them to open or a light to turn on. Everyone may be asleep, but someone had to hear her, right? She can't believe no one heard her cries for help. Maybe they are waiting to get the jump on Mioda? Yeah, that has to be it!

Saionji does her best to break away from her while gasping for air, but it's all to no avail. She just can't do it anymore. Her body just can't struggle on any further. No matter how hard she tries to break away from her vise like grasp, she's just too weak now. All of her energy has been used up getting here and calling for help. She bites down hard on Mioda's arm, hoping that it would get her to back off. The musician let's out an annoyed cry, but doesn't pull away from her. Her vision is starting to get really hazy now. She's barely getting any air into her lungs. She tries to get her wrist of out Mioda's grasp, but it fails horribly. Her body is at its breaking point, and just can't go on any longer. No matter what her brain commands, her body just can't do it.

_"Why didn't anyone wake up?"_ she thinks as she's starting to lose consciousness, everything around her swirling in a black fog, _"I did my best, but why didn't anyone come to help? I'm sorry for not being of any use Hajime. I'm sorry for being such a bratty girl and causing all of this. I'm actually, truly, really sorry for once."_

With that her eyes shut, her body no longer struggling against her attacker, her hand losing its grasp on the scissors. Mioda notices that the girl has stopped struggling and gasping for air, and places her down on the ground gently. She looks up and notices the curtain hanging on the window in the room directly in front her line of sight swaying a tad. She pays it no heads of course, she wasn't ordered to pay attention to anyone else except Saionji.

She looks down at her bleeding arm, seeing blood trailing downwards and hitting the ground. There are already a nice few spots of blood all over. She then turns her head back to the unconscious girl, "Mission complete Mikan-sama. I'm taking her back now." Before she goes and grabs Saionji's arm she reaches down and picks up the scissors and places it in her pocket, "Perhaps Mikan-sama would like her tool back. It is best to take it with me."

After that simple statement she bends down and lifts the small girl up bridal style. She weighs very little, so carrying her isn't too much of a problem for Mioda. She looks down at her soft face and mumbles, "I'm sorry about this Hiyoko, but orders from my master must be followed without a single hesitation." With that she starts to walk back to the venue, blood continuing to seep down her arm, "I must ask Mikan-sama to patch this up after taking care of Hajime. This wound is very inconvenient."

Inside of the motel room stood single person, holding back the curtain once more. A frown crosses the persons face, while with their free hand rubs their eyes and speaks groggily, "I was hoping that another murder wouldn't happen. I see that I was wrong again. Well, kinda wrong considering no one is dead yet. I didn't expect it to be Tsumiki though. I see that I'm not getting any sleep tonight. Though, if we can all work together and stop it, then it's worth it." After that the person walks away from the curtain and walks towards the door, prepared to face this event head on.

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><p><strong>Sorry for taking so long with this. I had this chapter planned out, but the writing process just wasn't coming to me. That, and school work just keeps on piling up and all. I hope this chapter was alright, I'm not much of a fan of it. I feel like it could have been handled better. Plus I'm not sure if I wrote Saionji alright. I'll probably end up editing it at a later point in time. Now then, who do you think is the witness? I don't think it's too hard to figure out! Of course surprise surprise with Hinata. Anyhow, thank you for reading and of course please review so I can read what you thought!<strong>


	4. Hope's Obliteration by Despair

**Well, here's the next chapter! This was going to be up sooner, but the past two days has been kinda hectic, so sorry! I also had some bad luck and got the back of my right ankle scrapped up by a wheelchair and didn't feel like doing anything. I didn't want to rush the chapter in the time I did have so I hope the wait was worth it! I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>Date Published: 1018/14  
><strong>**Word Count: 8,202  
><strong>**Page Count: 11**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Hope's Obliteration by Despair <strong>

Hinata Hajime was sure he was going to die. That the slash against his stomach was going to be the end of his boring existence. That the only meaningful thing he ever did in his life was help solve two murders and saved one other person from being killed by Tsumiki. It wasn't anything special, and he knew this. Even so, he was contempt with the outcome. He could have done absolutely nothing in that situation, but instead he managed to save one life. So in the end, he was happy to know that his death accomplished something rather than nothing at all.

Yet when he opens his eyes and finds himself in the storage room in the music venue, he isn't exactly sure of what's going on. His body feels stiff and feeble, he has a pulsating headache, and pain is dancing all over his wounded stomach. He is laying on his right side on the wooden floor, his hands resting behind his back, and then he motions his head downwards. He doesn't have his tie anymore, and the lower parts of his shirt is dyed with his blood. He feels the liquid sticking annoyingly on his groin and soaked up a bit in his boxers. He tries to move his right hand to pull up his shirt, but finds that he is unable to do so.

He tries to move both of his hands this time, but feels them brushing against a thick and rugged material. He then takes note of the same material being wrapped tightly around his ankles, preventing him from moving his feet freely. He then pulls his head away from his stomach and towards the door that leads back into the main part of the building.

"So I'm alive huh?" he mumbles to himself considering there are no other people in the room, "And here I was thinking I was going to die a semi-painful death. I guess Tsumiki is dead serious about torturing and making me see my friends suffer considering she saved my life. She must really want me to feel the despair she hasn't shut up about."

Hinata quickly comes to grasp his situation despite the agonizing pain coursing throughout his body. Tsumiki saved his life just so she can continue to torture him for her gruesome fascination. She then tied him up with the rope she was going to use to kill Mioda with, and dragged him into the storage room. That might explain why his head is pounding like a drum. She probably banged his cranium, or anything else for that matter, off of something while taking him down from the stage. He must have just passed out from the severe pain, but said agony also woke him up. He speculates that Tsumiki stopped the bleeding, cleaned out the wound with some ointment she carries around, and wrapped it up with bandages. She probably didn't have any pain killers to give him. Or she did have them but just didn't feel like giving them to him so he could suffer some more.

A nurse in despair is a formidable opponent when you are perfectly fine, but when you're injured it's a completely different ball game. She can easily take care of your wounds, and then just go back to brutalizing you without a care in the world. She knows exactly where to make one bleed and suffer without killing them. She also knows where to strike to make someone suffer a long, sluggish, agonizing death. The type of death that would allow her to swell up with her twisted obsession and fantasize joyfully. He hopes she doesn't have any needles filled with who knows what tucked away in her apron. It's one thing to get cut up with a knife, it's another thing entirely to be shot up with some mysterious drug. He doesn't want to go crazy, claw at his own throat and kill himself. Or anything else for that matter.

"I doubt I was unconscious for very long," he says to himself while continuing to analyze the situation, "My stomach hurts way to damn much to let me sleep peacefully. It feels like little devils are poking at me with pitchforks," he jokes with a small sad chuckle. He silently prays that the pain doesn't intensify to the extent that it would knock him out again. If he passes out for a second time, he doubts Tsumiki would just leave him be or take care of his wounds. He wouldn't put it pass the despair induced girl do something else to his body, like cut off something and replace it with something that would horrify him when he would awaken.

His mind then shift gears from focusing on himself to the other three people. He hopes that Saionji is still alive, or that she managed to get away from here and inform the others about what has been going on. It be nice if both options happened, but he has his doubts considering how weak she is. The petite girl can only do so much on her own after all, especially considering how frighten she was before. Tsumiki is more than likely plotting some form of torture for himself and Saionji depending on if she is still alive. Or she's creating a plan to make him fall into the despair she loves so much. While for Mioda, he isn't all that sure. She could be doing either two things about now, killing Saionji herself so Tsumiki will be able to surpass Monokuma's two deaths per person rule. Or is dead already herself. Tsumiki was originally going to kill her, so she could have done it already.

"No, Tsumiki wants to see me writhe in agony. She wants to see me fall into despair for some damn reason I just can't come close to understanding. She wouldn't kill either of them until she's done with me," he speaks irritably while clenching his bounded hands. The nurse has her fog filled eyes set on seeing him suffer. If he didn't walk into the venue, he's sure she would have just killed the two girls and then act like nothing happened at all. It is as if there is something special about him, something that only she knows and wants to exploit for fun.

"What the hell did I do in the past to make her want me to join her in this game of despair?! Just who is this other person she mentioned before?! What does he and I have in common?! What connects us both to this situation?!" he yells out from both his confusion and the pain swirling around his belly. She wants all of them to fall into despair and be like her, right? Yet she seems intent on killing the other two just so he would be the one to fall into this despair. What could her motive be for wanting him to be like her? Does she want him to be her second in command for some reason? Is it because he was kind to her? That she wants a nice person to be by her side when she's going around like a mad woman murdering people?

"Just who the hell is this other person she mentions?" he mumbles lowly to himself, trying to come to some understanding of who this other person is. Is there another person hidden away on this island? Living in a secrete mansion or underground somewhere? Is it a human, or something else? Is this extra addition the mastermind behind this game of mutual killing? The one controlling both Monokuma and Monomi? The person who caused the disease to spread around and twisted Tsumiki into what she is now? The complete asshole who he would love to deck for having his friends kill each other and making everyone suffer?!

"If there is one other person on this island, what does he and I have in common? Are we somehow connected, but because of our memories being tampered with I can't remember? I can't believe that I would be involved with the person who could behind all of this! Tsumiki must have said that to just get to me!" he declares furiously. If there is another person, he can't be connected to him! He isn't the sort of guy who wants people to suffer! Tsumiki is no longer who she once was, so why should he listen to anything she has to say? She wants them to fall into despair, and is willing to do anything for it to happen. She could just be lying to get him riled up and make him question who he is! She's doing all of this to just mess with his head!

"Why is it that the only person who remembers anything has to be Tsumiki? If she just didn't go crazy then we could have some important information that could explain everything! Instead, all I get is confusing dialogue from her, a mind game, and a bunch of pain and suffering!" he yells out, pondering why no one has walked in yet. He's sure he has been yelling loud enough to gain someone's attention. He wants answers to this situation, but doesn't know if he would be able to believe anything coming out of the nurse's mouth.

Out of everyone on this island, Tsumiki is the only one who remembers their school lives. He can assume that the disease somehow caused her to remember, triggering something inside of her brain. Her behavioral patterns though doesn't match up with the others. One minute she is behaving like usual, the next a complete psychopath, and then back to normal without a problem. To say the least, she is all over the place with her emotions. He never even noticed anything wrong with her until he came into the venue. The other three though showed obvious signs of having a different conduct the minute they meet up a few days ago.

The other three infected also haven't shown any signs of recalling the past or wanting to murder anyone, except for Komaeda. Considering this is Komaeda he's thinking about, he doesn't really count. If it's for the sake of hope, he's all up for killing. Owari and Mioda on the other hand, has shown no interests or behaviors similar to Tsumiki. The two are just acting in accordance to their afflictions. If the disease caused her to remember everything they have forgotten, could her past be the reason for her sudden love of despair? Monokuma did say that the disease affects each person in completely different way. That, and the other three only has one symptom affecting their personality. Tsumiki remembering is obviously thanks to the disease, making it possible that it is her symptom. Yet, being overwhelmed with despair, the desire to murder, torture, and acting different at every moment can also count as a symptom. If that is the case, she has five symptoms rather than just the one. One the other hand her remembering could be the cause for her behavior and the other changes are all connected to that. If that's the case, then she must have been like this before they lost their memories.

"No way, that can't be it. Tsumiki being a murdering sadist in the past? I just can't accept that," he speaks, trying to come up with any other possible reason for her behavior, "But it would explain why she's acting differently from the other three. None of them have acted crazy, or have gone on and on about spreading despair. If the disease has caused her memories to return, then that would have reverted her back to her previous self. The others haven't shown any signs of remembering the past from being affected, much less wanting to kill anyone. Tsumiki is the outlier in this situation, especially considering she could have more than one symptom."

All he has been doing is thinking while attempting to ignore the pain. Trying to find some logical explanation for everything going on. It's hard enough for him to believe that a disease can cause people to change their personalities and remember the past. The theory that the sweet and timid Tsumiki he first meet could have been seduced by despair in the past sounds unbelievable to him. That before losing their memories, she wanted nothing more than to spread despair throughout the world. That all of the bad things in her past finally caught up to her and broke her into what he has seen. All of these thoughts just can't be possible, right? The seemingly never-ending pain must be screwing with his thinking, right?

"I can't believe it, I just can't," he declares, "For all I know, there can be more than one symptom accompanying someone inflicted with the disease. Monokuma only told us that they are affected by a symptom, but he didn't clarify if it is only one. For all I know, Tsumiki is just unlucky and was hit with more symptoms than the others considering of meek she is. Or because she is always around them, her case is more severe than the others in terms of symptoms. It is also possible that the others have other symptoms I just didn't notice."

All of this deducting has caused his headache to worsen, the simple drum transforming into a gigantic one. He isn't a doctor, much less a psychologist and a doctor who specializes in Monokuma illnesses. He can't be certain of anything at this point. It's entirely possible that the disease only has one symptom affecting their personalities, or it can have more than one. The damn bear didn't clarify anything to them as usual, and that is what is making this harder to comprehend. Is Tsumiki only acting out because of the disease? Is she acting like this because she remembers the past? He can't tell if she's an outlier because she remembers the past or because he's lacking more information on the sickness.

All he can do right now is think and think. Ponder on and on about what is truly happening to his friend. If this change in her character is due to the sickness, or because the sickness allowed her to remember their past. He hopes it's just the illness, he doesn't want to think that Tsumiki was like this before they all came here. Even so, it doesn't change the fact he is still tied up in a building with an insane girl who can do who knows what to him and whoever is still alive. That his body just doesn't want to cooperate with him and stop the pain from circulating any further. At any minute now Tsumiki can walk in, carrying a weapon, her apron cover in blood, a bloodied piece of cloth hanging from her hand, or even a severed body part. He can't do anything right now except think about what is going on outside of this small room. Thinking is really the one viable option for him, anything else is too far out of his reach.

After what seems like an eternity, the door finally opens up. An emotionless, swirly set of eyes meets his own. Mioda closes the door quietly behind her and then walks into the room slowly. The musician's left arm is wrapped up with bandages while her right one is resting in the pocket of her hospital gown. She proceeds to sit a few inches across from him, doing nothing more than looking at him without a single care in the world.

He's relieved to see her alive and not splashed with someone's blood. Yet it doesn't change the unnerving atmosphere now swirling inside of the room. Her eyes are just so cold and emotionless, the type belonging to an uncaring murderer. The person sitting before him isn't the same girl he's used to fooling around with while pretending that this cruel world just doesn't exist. At this very moment, she's nothing more than Tsumiki's loyal puppet. A puppet that can be given any order and follow it without a single hesitation. The fact that she has her hand in her pocket doesn't help him either. He prays that there is nothing inside of it. Nothing at all that can cause harm to his already damaged body. The pain of his stomach is now mixing with unease of what is to come, creating a feeling he has never felt in his life.

"What happened to your arm?" he asks, trying to remain calm and keep his voice steady. If this was the normal Mioda, he wouldn't have anything to be afraid of. The normal her wouldn't hurt anyone, much less torture someone. Unfortunately for him it isn't. The disease has taken away most of her normal behavior and ideologies, leaving behind nothing more than an easily manipulated individual. At any moment she could pull out a weapon and follow Tsumiki's orders to make him suffer and fall into despair. This Mioda probably wouldn't even care about what would happen to him or Saionji. The only thing that possibly matters to her right now is following orders to make her 'master' happy.

"Hiyoko cut my arm with a pair of scissors. It hurt badly and still does, it's rather annoying," she responds without any hesitation or emotion. Everything about her is as blank as a piece of paper, as if the attack sounds perfectly normal. Her voice would normally be loud and emotional over such an ordeal, along with some overreacting but it just can't be right now.

"Why did she do that? Saionji may talk like she'll do something, but I don't think she would actually be able hurt someone," he responds, praying that the small girl was alright. Saionji was probably trying to protect herself from Mioda who was ordered to do something to her. She more than likely didn't want to do it, but cared more about living than hurting someone else. In a life or death situation, the only thing that matters is getting away in one piece.

"She was running away from the venue, and Mikan-sama of course ordered me to bring her back. She managed to get all the way to the motel, but during the struggle she cut my arm. She didn't win in the end, for she is in the other room," she continues simply. She then moves her head down to look at her injured arm for a moment, pulls her hand of out her pocket and touches it lightly. She flinches from the pain and retunes her gaze back to Hinata.

"Does that mean she's still alive?" he asks with hope seeping through his words, his eyes lighting up a bit. If she managed to get all the way there, he's certain someone had to hear her. She might have been dragged back, but with that loud mouth of hers, she had to be able to wake someone up. He doubts everyone could have slept through all of that yelling and crying. Someone there has to be a light sleeper. Knowing Nanami, she was probably still awake playing her video games. If that's the case, even though Saionji is back here with him, they'll come to the rescue. They'll come and stop Tsumiki from killing anyone! It'll take some time to get prepared, but he knows they won't just let them be damned and die here!

"Yes. Like I said, she is in the other room with Mikan-sama. At the moment she is unconscious, but she should be waking up any moment now," she continues without a care.

"Unconscious? What the hell did you do too her?!" he hollers at her, the lightness in his eyes transforming into concern and anger. He was thinking she was dragged back, not knocked unconscious! Even though Mioda believes she's Tsumiki's servant, it doesn't excuse her from taking such actions against someone smaller and weaker than her!

"I strangled her so she would pass out. It made it much easier for me to take her back to Mikan-sama. I didn't try to kill Hiyoko, and I couldn't do that for Mikan-sama ordered me to bring her back in one piece. Even so, I wouldn't have killed her if I had the option to nor did I want to hurt her, but I have to follow my orders, correct?" she responds, this time looking down at the floor, as if she's ashamed of hurting Saionji.

He isn't sure how to respond to that. It seems like she doesn't want to hurt, much less kill anyone, but is following Tsumiki's orders because she believes it's the proper thing to do. She can't stop herself from believing Tsumiki and doing what she says, but it doesn't mean she fully wants to go along with it. It's like a part of her personality isn't being subdued by the disease, but because of it she can't act upon it and disobey Tsumiki.

"Sorry for yelling at you," he starts up in a gentler voice. Maybe a part of the old Mioda is still there. She didn't hurt Saionji because she wants to or because she fully believes it's the right thing, she just can't help it. She even seems ashamed for doing it. It's not like it's really her fault. The same goes for Tsumiki, she isn't doing this because she wants to, and it's because of the disease. At least he hopes that's the case, "You're just following orders. Even if you don't want to do it you feel like you just have to, right?"

"Correct," she responds while still looking away from him, "Mikan-sama is my master after all. She told me that earlier since I apparently forgot, and I'm only to follow her orders and do what she wants me to do. Even if I don't think it's the right thing to do, I must do it because she is Mikan-sama and that is all that matters."

Mikan-sama this and Mikan-sama that. All that matters is that she is freaking Mikan-sama and blah blah blah. God, is he getting sick of hearing Mioda call her that! Tsumiki has no servants, and Mioda sure as hell shouldn't be forced into her bidding because of this damn disease! If he just kept a better eye on her, then maybe Tsumiki wouldn't have been able to get to her and make her believe in that bullshit! It isn't fair for the nurse to be using someone who can't even make their own decisions anymore! To manipulate someone into hurting others is just wrong! It's even worse since she seems to still have some of her own opinions circulating around her foggy mind yet can't act upon them. All of this is just pissing him off so much, but he can't do anything at all. No matter how much he wants to get her to listen to him, Mioda just can't do it. The disease is preventing her from going against Tsumiki's orders, even if she doesn't want to do it. He wonders if she even realizes that's the reason why she can't defy Tsumiki.

Hinata redirects his vision from the girl before him to the floor. He feels just so weak and useless right now. He can't help Saionji from her impending doom. He can't find a way stop Tsumiki from killing anyone and returning to her old self. He can't do a damn thing to get Mioda to stopping thinking she belongs to Tsumiki. If he would yell at her again and again that she doesn't need to follow her orders she just wouldn't listen to him. No matter how much he would plead with her, he believes nothing will be solved. This feeling of incompetence combining with his agony is making him feel deplorable. No matter how much he wants to help the people around him, he just can't do it. The world around him wants them to suffer, and somewhere on the island Monokuma is laughing at their pain, enjoying their despair.

"Hajime?" he hears her say with a little emotion. This causes him to return his gaze to her and place his self-loathing on hold. To his surprise she has her head turned slightly, with what he believes is a small trace of concern making its way through her clouded eyes. If possible, she might have become concerned when he stopped talking.

"Yeah, what is it Ibuki?" he asks, wondering why she hasn't done anything to him yet. He isn't complaining about it, but just can't help but feel curious. Tsumiki has to have a reason in for sending her in here. Even so, it is nice to be able to talk with someone who isn't interested in seeing him suffer tremendously.

"How are you now Hajime? I mean, after what Mikan-sama did to you? I think she didn't need to go that far, but what I think really doesn't matter to her," she says to him simply. Her eyes are still swirly, but after talking to her, it still feels like the regular Mioda is there somewhere. Sure, she isn't talking in the third person and acting overly hyperactive, but it is helping him feel better somehow. It's like the chaotic world around him is turning tranquil from having someone to talk to with the hope of their friends coming to save them.

"It hurts like hell, and I feel like shit both physically and mentally. Though having you to talk to is a good way to calm down," he responds with a small chuckle and slight smile. When she first walked in, he felt nothing but doom. Now though, having her to talk with, even if she isn't her usual self, is nice. The silence from the other room is also a good sign that Tsumiki will not do anything to Saionji until she wakes up. That anxiety from before is abruptly fading away into an odd sort of serenity combined with some curiosity. If things stay like this, bathed in calmness and hope, then he's sure they'll all get out of this predicament.

"I see," she speaks lowly while getting closer to him, "It is also nice to speak with you, it's enjoyable. It's better than hurting anyone else under Mikan-sama's orders." She then lifts up his shirt lightly, but Hinata arches his back and bites down on his lip in pain at the slight movement going against his abdominal. His stomach is wrapped up tightly with a lot of bandages, and there are some blood stains scattered across the material. Before long it's going to have to be replaced "Sorry Hajime. This must have hurt a lot." After that she pulls her hand away from his shirt.

"Yeah, it did. I'm actually surprised to still be alive, I was really expecting to die. Thanks to it, I doubt I would be able to move around if I wasn't already tied up." This is one of the things that confuses him. What is the point of having him tied up if he already can't move? He's sure he can move around a little bit, but is in no shape to escape. He wouldn't be able to get very far, or fight anyone really. It hurts just laying down and having something brush against wound, he doesn't want to know how much it would hurt if he tried to walk around or even run. Tsumiki was probably being cautious when she did it, but he feels she went overboard with it.

Mioda doesn't move away from him, but just stays there and looks at him, "I'm glad you are alive Hajime. I would be sad if you died. Mikan-sama did a good job at saving you after almost killing you."

Her voice lacks any sort of emotion, but it is still a nice thing for him to hear. He would have preferred that sentence to not have included Tsumiki's name and the irony of it all, but there isn't anything he can do. No matter how much he wants her to stop calling Tsumiki that, he doubts she'll listen. Maybe she would like to stop it, but really just isn't able to do so. Even so, he feels like he should at least try and hope. That really is the only thing he can do right now, hope for the best, "Thanks, that's nice to know and I'm glad too. Though you shouldn't be calling her Mikan-sama. She doesn't own you or any of the sorts. You are just you after all."

"Why is that? Isn't she my master?" she retorts simply, not understanding the situation, "I disagree with some of her orders, but Mikan-sama is my master and no matter what I must follow her orders. That are what servants are for, to follow the orders given to them by their masters and to accomplish them orderly. At least, that is what she told me to do."

"Of course not!" he shouts at her, finally having enough with her calling Tsumiki her master without a problem, "I hate hearing you say that again and again! She doesn't own you Ibuki! She's just manipulating you into doing her dirty work and a part of you knows it! She's using your illness to make you her personal puppet! Why can't you just notice that?!" He just can't stand to see her like this, and hoping for her to break out of it just won't be enough. Being forced to attack people, being used despite not wanting to do any of it. The way she has spoken to him proves she doesn't want to go along with it, but just can't find a way to stop herself! It freaking pisses him off to see Tsumiki using her without a single remorse! The fact that he knows he can't do anything at all doesn't help either.

Mioda doesn't say anything back to him while looking away. He doubts she really can respond to his inquiry, or perhaps just doesn't want to. It's hard to read her when she's like this. Even though she doesn't want to go along with what Tsumiki is saying, the disease is making it hard for her to go against those ideals. Tsumiki knows she won't be able to break out of it, and is using it to her advantage in this twisted game of hers. She's using it to annoy him.

The room remains quiet for a while, mostly due to his sudden outburst of frustration. After having enough with the eerie silence he decides to ask her something he has been wondering for a while now, "Why did you come in here in the first place Ibuki?" He still isn't sure why Tsumiki would send her in without the order to hurt him. The only idea he is able to think of is that she wants to gets on his nerves with Mioda calling her Mikan-sama over and over. To showcase that he can't do anything to stop it, forcing him to watch his friend act like her personal servant. He is fine with conversations, but the more he talks with her the more he wants to know what is going on with the despair induced nurse. Plus the reputation of hearing Mikan-sama is getting on his nerves big time.

"Why? Mikan-sama wants me to talk with you," she responds lowly, still not looking at him. He figures that she's put off by his frustration with this situation. He didn't mean it like that, but he can't help but to feel annoyed. He hates seeing being lugged around on a pair of strings, doing actions that Tsumiki wants her to do.

"Why is that though? I thought she wants me to suffer and fall into despair, not to have a conversation with a friend," he asks her in a softer tone that before. Besides messing with his head, he just can't think of any other reason Tsumiki would send her inside.

Her body suddenly stiffens at the word despair and looks over to him. The look in her eyes turn from blank to frighteningly detached. Just that simple look causes his own body to stiffen. He has never seen her look terrifying, and his breath starts to build up in his throat.

"That is correct Hajime," and with that she returns her right hand to her pocket and pulls something out. It's a surgical knife, the blade though is different from the one Tsumiki used on him before, "Mikan-sama wanted me to speak with you until you asked me about despair."

"W-what do you mean?" he asks, fear now forcing itself out of his throat and air invading his lungs. His eyes are locked on the blade that it curved and has an unsharpened back. This isn't happening, is it? Everything was generally fine, but why is it the moment he asks about despair she starts to act like this?

"The moment you say despair, is the moment the torture will start. That is one of the orders given to me. Mikan-sama also said that everything that will happen from this point on is entirely your fault," she explains with a deadpan voice while holding the blade before him.

Did Tsumiki…really just play him like this? That this was her plan the whole entire damn time? To make him think everything was going to work out for him in the end until he said one word? That if he wouldn't have asked about despair than nothing would have happened? He could have just talked with Mioda until help arrived? He wouldn't have had to worry about getting hurt if he just kept his damn mouth shut and wasn't curious about Tsumiki's despair?!

No, no, he wouldn't have been able to stay quiet about that. One way or another he would have decided to ask. He was thinking about what she was planning for a good while now. Brooding over how she was going to try to make him join her in her twisted despair. Was that why she left him alone for so long? To leave him to his thoughts about her devious plan? To make him wonder what she would do, and who this other mysterious person is? To make her despair entice him, to make him interested in it?

The word despair, the suspense of when her plan was going to go into motion, it would have never left his mind. He would have asked one way or another simply because he wanted to know what was going to happen. Tsumiki predicted this outcome, and made sure to use to get the advantage in this game. She used it against him before he even started to think about it! She gave him hope to stay alive by saving him, but because she knew he would bring up despair, it would mean the end of him. He basically hurled away his chance at living because he decided to ask about despair rather than just clinging to his hope. If he didn't think about what Tsumiki was planning on doing, he wouldn't be in this situation now! He freaking blew it yet again!

"I don't want to do this Hajime, but my orders are orders," she begins, "I was hoping you and I could have just talked like we did back at the hospital, but I see we can't now. Even though I would prefer to talk and enjoy your company, I must do what my master wants me to do."

"Hold on a second Ibuki! You don't have to do anything! She doesn't own your life! Your life is your own, don't let Tsumiki use you for her own deeds! I know you, you don't want to hurt anyone because you are a good person!" he screams at her while fear begins to pulsate through him rapidly. Everything that is going to happen to him now is going to be entirely his own damn fault! If he…if he just didn't think about despair than nothing was going to happen! If he didn't think about what Tsumiki was up to, or ask why she sent Mioda into the room this wouldn't be happening! If he would have stuck with his hope rather than allowing himself to be drawn to despair, than everything would have turned out differently!

"Mikan-sama is my master and there is nothing I can do about it," she explains, but her hand is starting to shake. Her body instinctively doesn't want to go through with the act, but she just can't stop herself because of the sickness. It won't let her break out of this trance of manipulation until someone finally dies, or she herself becomes a corpse.

"Yes you can Ibuki! Just stop this, all of this! Fight back, you have to try!" he yells at her while moving his body slightly, pain coursing through his body immensely along with his terror. He wants her to fight against the illness, but he knows better. There is nothing that she can do. Unless Tsumiki comes in and tells her to stop, she won't be able to. Mioda is nothing more than a puppet, and no matter how much she doesn't want to go along with it, she must. That means no matter how much he pleads with her, she won't listen. She can't stop herself no matter how much he hopes her to.

"I can't. I must go through with my orders to mutilate myself," she says while lifting the blade to her left arm and dragging to lightly against her hand. The cut doesn't penetrate all of the skin, yet it still cuts a small portion. Pink blood begins to slowly drip from her hand and hit the floor as she lets out a low gasp of pain.

"Mutilate…yourself?" he breaths out lowly as he watches to the blood seep from her hand, "What the hell are you talking about Ibuki?! Why are you going to harm yourself?! I thought Tsumiki wants me to suffer, not you!" he yells as his blood begins to run cold. This isn't happening, is it? This has to be an illusion! This just can't be real, Tsumiki wants him to be in pain, not Mioda! She's her puppet, right?!

"That is what Mikan-sama wants. She wants you to suffer by watching me mutilate myself. The torture Mikan-sama wants to inflict on you right now is this, that you have to watch me injure myself and bleed out while you are unable to do anything at all," she explains to him with what he thinks is fear seeping through. She doesn't want to hurt herself, yet she can't go against her orders. She must do what Tsumiki told her because he opened his damn mouth!

"This is how she wants me to suffer?" he breaths out, unable to believe those words, "She wants me to suffer by watching you cut yourself?!" This is what Tsumiki wants? This is what she meant by making him watch his friends suffer? This is the despair she wants to inflict him with so badly? The despair that he created solely from his own stupidity of wanting to know what she was planning?! That everything that is going to happen is completely his fault!

"That is unfortunately correct, Mikan-sama wants you to suffer by watching me suffer. Mikan-sama isn't a very good master," she responds in a low tone. This time she rolls her left sleeve up and then raises the blade to the top of her arm. She then starts to make small incisions into her skin, one cut after another. She is doing her best to not cry loudly in pain, but can't help herself. She might not all be there, but she can still feel pain. As she continues to make small cuts as blood starts to flow down her arm. It starts to soak up in her bandages, but also falls to the floor making small, bright pink dots.

"Stop! Stop it damn it!" he yells furiously at her, "You don't need to do this! If you do this you may end up killing yourself!" He knows that everything he says will just go on deft ears. He knows that she can't stop herself. When one is inflicted with the Despair Disease, they act in accordance with their infliction. She is gullible, and believes she must follow all of Tsumiki's orders because she is her servant. As such, she must follow her orders even if she doesn't want to do so. She must mutilate herself because she believes that she must. The disease won't let her go against it, and Tsumiki is using it all towards her advantage. To spread her despair.

Mioda doesn't say anything back to Hinata, she just continues to attack herself. She is covering her arm with more and more slashes. She is even starting to make some large cuts, most likely because the pain is making it hard to keep her hand steady. The blood is starting to really pile up below her now. The bandages are starting to swell up with her blood as well, as well as parts of the gown. Her simple gasps of pain are starting to turn to extremely excruciating ones. The more she strikes at her skin, the more uneven it gets because of how much pain she is in.

Hinata watches her, his iris wide in shock. He can't believe any of this is happening. Everything he sees is mortifying him, the cuts, the blood, and dear God are her cries of anguish destroying him inside. Even her clouded eyes can't mask the immense pain she is inflicting onto herself and they certainly can't hold back her tears. The look on her face is just terrifying, it's mixed with such misery and despair that it's making him feel nauseas. She's even biting down on her lip to keep her cries of pain subdued, but all it has done is leave another strike of blood.

He wants to yell at her, to try to get her to stop, but he knows it's no good. Everything before him is leaving his body numb. It's one thing to find someone dead, it's an entirely different thing to watch someone maim themselves. He just watches, completely horrified. Tears are running down his face as he is unable to look away from her. Blood continues to seep downwards and every time he hears it go splat against the floor he thinks his heart is going to stop. This is all too much for him to watch, to hear, everything! He just wants it to end!

He desperately tries to move his body, but he feels nothing but pain. Even so he continues to try to move, to find some way to stop her, to save her. This pain she's inflicting onto herself is all his fault! He caused this to happen, so it's only far for him to suffer! If only…if only he kept quiet about this! If only he didn't allow Tsumiki's despair to entice him into mentioning it! If he…if…if…if only…if only he didn't want to know what Tsumiki's despair.

"Gahhhhhhhhhh! Just stop this Ibuki!" he finally lets out a shriek from both mental and physical anguish. This must be why Tsumiki tied him up with the rope. It isn't to prevent him from leaving, it's to prevent him stopping her! Tsumiki knows he can't escape, but made it look like it to fool him! This rope is the thing that's going to thwart him from stopping Mioda! This is what is going to make him watch her thrash in pain as she defaces her body because of him! If he could get it off, then he would be able to take the knife away from her!

She doesn't stop. Of course she doesn't. She can't. Her body is trembling as her tears are starting to mix with the blood on the floor. Her grip on the knife is almost nonexistent now, all of her slashes becoming messy and missing the intended target. Her eyes are resting on Hinata, as if she's begging him for help. He wants to, but what can he do like this? He dreadfully tries to move, to stand, to do anything to get his body going. It doesn't listen to his entreats. The only thing it generates is more and more pain that he fully deserves.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!" he cries out as he continues to move his hands around, trying to see if Tsumiki didn't tie the rope well. If he can at least get his hands free than he can get the knife off of her! He has to do something! He needs to stop what he caused somehow! He also tries to move his upward, pushing his body to his limits and succeeds somewhat.

Then he hears another agonizing scream. That one belongs to Saionji he clarifies. He momentarily freezes as the shriek echoes through his body. Saionji must have woken up. Tsumiki must be torturing her, playing mind games, stabbing her, mutilating her, trying to saw something off, _anything_. She is doing anything and everything that can, isn't she? The only thing he is able to do is listen to her violent screams. He can tell she's saying something, but he can't decode anything. His body can only hear and see agony, _despair_. That's the only thing floating around. The despair Tsumiki so desperately wants him to feel.

"I…I…I have to do something!" he screams out as the pain thrashes through his body and sends him down once more. His eyes go back to Mioda once more as he continues to hear Saionji's cries mixing with Tsumiki's laughter. Her left arm is filled with cuts, some big, some small, and some that look nonexistent. It seems that some of her slashes didn't even break her skin. That doesn't change the fact her arm and clothes are bloody. The floor has stains everywhere. Her face is frightening. She's in anguish, suffering, and the feeling of despair coursing violently through her body. The difference between her and Tsumiki though is obvious. Mioda is in no way enjoying her misery. Her hand is shaking horribly from her the pain, and looks like she is going to drop the knife any second. Her eyes are swirling around with anything and everything that connects to pain. It looks like she wants to speak, but is unable to.

"This isn't right…this shouldn't be happening," speaks Hinata lowly in an implausible voice as his hope starts to disappear from his body. His head is resting against the floor as he continues to cry. Everything before him is his fault. He can't do anything at all. He is absolutely useless. He caused his friend to maim herself all because he said one word. She doesn't deserve to go through this. She should be smiling, being happy, making jokes, acting stupid, and making this horrible place feel better. She should be making him feel happy, making him smile back brightly, having fun, running around happily, and replacing the sorrow in his stomach with joy.

Instead everything hurts. His body is trembling in aguish since he can't do anything at all. His head is pounding violently as his ears continue to hear Saionji crying for help. He can't do anything at all to help her either. All he can do is hear her scream stridently. He just can't do a damn thing. He feels nothing but wretchedness coursing with his distress, creating some odd feeling dancing throughout him. This feeling is unnerving, making him want to crawl into a hole and die a wretched death while taking anyone he can down with him. All he can think is how useless he is. How he can't do anything at all for the people he cares for.

"Ah, it's useless…it's all useless," he breaths out lowly to the floor. His eyes remain on Mioda, who has stopped harming herself. He can't tell if she's waiting for the pain to go away or is just to broken to go on any further. He feels nothing but anguish in his belly, but at least this gives him something to be glad about. Maybe Komaeda is right, hope may only come up from despair. If drowning himself in despair can save someone else, he's fine with that. After all, it's the only thing he can do right now. He can't do anything of true value, maybe he has never been able to so that.

It's something even a person as useless as him can do. Even a person who can't protect the people he has come to care for can do that. A person who is unable to stop one girl from killing anyone and forcing despair onto them. A person who is unable to get a small girl out alive while sacrificing his own body. A person who is unable to stop a girl he might even love from mutilating herself in the name of despair. Ah, it's useless…it's all useless for someone as unskilled and useless as him.

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><p><strong>And that's it! Wow is this chapter long! I thought I would barely hit 6,000 and here it is over 8,000! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, even though I'm sure the characters aren't enjoying themselves. Well, everyone else expect Tsumiki. I'm iffy on parts here and there, but I think it came out alright. As usual please review so I can read what your thoughts are! <strong>


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